Amongst the Dead
by The Fanfic Stealer
Summary: Permanant Hiatus. Sorry! AU from year 2 onward. Harry dies... then comes back. As a superpowerful lycanvampire hybrid. Uber! Better summary in my profile. Massive crossover, though Harry Potter is the main one. HarryXShinobu, MichaelXSelene
1. Prologue: A Different Path Unfolds

A/N: I've been working on this fic for the last year and a half, and I'm still not done! X-P I have most of it, though, so I decided to start the uploading, and see if I can finish before I have to upload the last chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Love Hina, Underworld: Evolution, or Hellsing. If I did, Harry wouldn't be so pathetic, Keitaro would have boned Naru by volume 7, and Alucard wouldn't have those seals on him. ((snicker + evil grin))

Amongst the Dead

A Harry Potter/Underworld/Hellsing/Love Hina Crossover

By: The Fanfic Stealer

Prologue: A Different Path Unfolds

Lucius Malfoy was angry. No, he was beyond angry; he was furious to the point of a berserker rage! How dear that stupid little brat do that to him, place him in such a position!

The man paced his study, his long blond hair gelled to the point that it didn't even move with all the pacing, his aristocratic face twisted in an ugly snarl of rage, and his robes billowing out to give him a dangerous air. He had just returned from Hogwarts, where he had had an encounter with Harry Potter.

Harry Potter! His rage increased at that hated name. That impudent little brat had had the gall to humiliate him, and lose him his most prized house elf to boot! Not to mention the fact that the boy had destroyed a diary that was most treasured by his master! Why the Dark Lord treasured that old and rather flimsy diary, he'd never know, but his lord had made his feelings on that diary quite clear, and that little brat had destroyed it, thus risking his position within the inner circle. The little brat would pay for this!

And with that thought in mind, Lucius Malfoy sat at his desk and plotted.

OoOoOoO

It had been several days since he had returned to Number 4 Privet Drive, and twelve-year-old Harry Potter still couldn't get rid of an idea that had popped into his head on the train ride to King's Cross Station: a morning jog. It had come about when Hermione had told him about a new exercise program her parents were starting, where, starting July, they would take a jog every morning, with each jog being a little further everyday, until they could jog 15 miles at one go. Since then, the idea of a morning jog had become more and more appealing to him, because he knew it would make him quicker and give him more endurance, which was a must when his cousin's gang's favorite game just happened to be Hunt-Down-And-Beat-The-Snot-Out-Off-Dudley's-Freak-Cousin.

He was currently in his rather small room (smallest room in the house, actually), trying his best to get some of his Transfiguration summer reading done. "Trying" being the main word, for, as mentioned earlier, the morning jog idea just wouldn't leave him alone. Eventually, he gave up the attempt as lost and turned his full concentration on the idea, trying to figure out why he hadn't already just decided on going with it. After all, he certainly needed the speed and endurance boost… not to mention the fact that he would get to get away from the Dursleys for a short, precious while, now that he thought of it. But then, on the flip side of the coin, there was the feeling that leaving the house without any of his guardians would bring about something very bad…

Harry shook that thought away. Why was he being so paranoid? It was a morning jog, for Merlin's sake! Nothing was going to happen to him, since he was planning on taking his jog early enough so that he would be back in time to make breakfast for his relatives, who were the only people who would give him grief about this little addition to his routine.

And with that, he brushed away that creeping doubt and decided firmly that he was going to start the next day.

OoOoOoO

It had taken him several days of searching, but Lucius Malfoy was eventually able to find where that fool Dumbledore was keeping the brat. He had just apparated to the filthy little muggle hovel and was about to start surveying the place when he saw the door to Number 4 open. He hastily wrapped an invisibility cloak around himself and peeked out to see who was up at the Merlin-forsaken hour of five in the morning.

When he saw who it was, the man couldn't help but let a cruel smirk appear on his (overly) pale face. Just his luck, for who should step out but Harry Potter, the Golden Boy himself! He watched as the boy did a few stretches and started a slow jog down the pathway and down the sidewalk. With the invisibility cloak still wrapped around him, he followed silently.

Jogging behind the boy, he went over his now rather simple plan: get Harry Potter alone, torture him a bit, and then kill him. He knew he was supposed to lay low until the Dark Lord rose again (which he firmly believed would happen; he had started the rumor that he thought the Dark Lord was dead so he would stay out of suspicion while he looked for some way for his lord to return), but the boy's insult to his pride had been too much, and he wanted blood!

Eventually, the boy was in the sparsely populated fringes of the town, and he knew it was time to strike. Taking out his wand, he first cast a silencing charm around the area (can't be careless now, can we?) and aimed carefully at the boy's back. When he was sure there would be no chance of missing, he muttered a quick "_Crucio_" and watched in glee as the boy only had time to look back in surprise before the curse hit him, sending him to the ground. His body writhed in pain as he cried out in agony.

Lucius let the curse go on for two minutes before he lifted it. By then the boy had a dribble of blood running down the corner of his mouth, probably from biting his tongue. He looked down at the pitiful creature before and snarled. "Humiliated me, will you?" he growled before unleashing several bludgeoning and cutting curses in rapid succession. He grinned cruelly as the boy screamed out in pain once more.

And so it continued for the next hour, Lucius taking sadistic glee in cutting, beating, breaking, and generally torturing the boy. But eventually, he grew tired of the sport. He smirked in triumph over what used to be Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived. "And you're supposed to defeat the Dark Lord? Pathetic," He said. He raised his wand one last time and aimed it at the body.

"Good bye, Potter. _Avada_-" He stopped in mid incantation, suddenly getting a better idea. He gave the barely awake boy a truly evil grin. "On second thought, Potter, I want you to die the good old fashioned way; I want you to bleed to death, thinking about how, in the end, none of your mudblood and blood traitor friends were there for you. _Crucio_!" He watched the boy writhe in pain for a few seconds, his voice long gone from screaming so much, before taking the boy's wand and snapping it in front of his face. His job done, Lucius apparated back to Malfoy Manor to tell his own son the good news and to give him the wand pieces as an early birthday present. He was sure his son would be overjoyed!

A/N: And that's it for the Prologue. If you haven't figured it out yet, I SERIOUSLY do not like Malfoy Sr. You can be sure he's going to meet a horrible end when all is said and done.

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	2. Chapter 1: The Daywalker

A/N: Here's Chapter 1 of _Amongst the Dead_. There's not much else to say, really…

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Love Hina, Hellsing, or Underworld: Evolution. I wish I did, though, because I could really use the cash… --;;

Chapter 1: The Daywalker

Selene watched the last bits of the sun clear the horizon, amazed at the breathtaking beauty of it. It had been centuries since she had been able to see the sight last as easily as she did now, and had since then learned to not take the ability to watch the sun rise and set for granted.

She sat up from her place on a small hill and stretched luxuriously before making her way back to the RV that was parked some ways into a nearby forest. The RV was their home now, ever since the rest of the vampire nation had held her and her boyfriend, Michael Corvin, responsible for the deaths of the Elders Viktor and Marcus and ordered a world wide hunt for their heads.

(Okay, so she really WAS responsible for the deaths of the Elders, but it was what they both deserved… well, maybe not Marcus, because he had only been trying to free his brother William, the first Lycan, but what they were planning afterwards world domination had to be stopped. And Viktor was a bastard for lying to her about the death of her family and the start of the Lycan-Vampire War.)

Then there was the Lycan nation (if their society could be called that), who also wanted their heads. One would think that after killing two out of three of the vampire Elders they would have been praised by the Lycans, but apparently they were now viewed as a threat and had to be eliminated for the benefit of all werewolves. It didn't help that as a Death Dealer she had killed more then her fair share of their kind and Michael had killed their Elder equivalent.

So now they were on the run from two rather powerful underground empires, each wanting nothing more for them to flop over and die. But there was no way in hell she and Michael were going to do that, so here they were in Britain, in a RV parked in some random forest, while the two empires hunted for them with everything they had.

As she made her way down the road that lead into the forest, she came upon a rather ragged bundle of… well, rags. Paying it no heed, she was about to walk right by it when the smell of blood assaulted her nose. She looked around before realizing it was coming from the little bundle. Her curiosity piqued ('Viktor always said I was like a cat in everyway but the ears and tale,' she thought ruefully), she stealthily headed over and lifted some of the cloth away. The sight that met her eyes nearly made her sick.

In the bundle was what could have very well been a child, once. Now it was nothing more then a flayed mess with what resembled arms, legs, and a head. In all her nine hundred-odd years, she had never seen such cruelty, such barbarianism, which was saying something when one considered the fact that she once tortured rookie lycans to death without mercy.

Deciding that the only thing she could do was give the pitiful little bundle a proper burial, she picked it up… and nearly dropped it again when she realized that the child was still breathing! She was dumbfounded; how could a child still be alive after THIS?!?

Now she was at a lost of what to do; her originally plan, a proper burial, was out the window because it was still alive. She couldn't very well call the police, because all major, and some minor, police departments had been infiltrated by both the vampires and the Lycan, and she couldn't very well leave the bundle on the side of the rode for pick up. She also couldn't bring him to the hospital, because not only did she have to go into the nearest city, but the hospitals of the world had been infiltrated by the vampires since the nineteenth century, when frozen blood had been developed. And she'd be damned before she just put the bundle back where she found it and pretended it never happened. So now she was left with no choices… that is, unless…

Her mind made up, Selene gently hugged the bundle to her and hurried to the RV.

A/N: Hoorah!! Harry is saved… kinda… sorta… maybe. Okay, so he still dies, but at least now you know how he comes back!

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	3. Chapter 2: The Hybrid

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter from before, and sorry again for this chapter's length. I promise the chapters get longer eventually! ;;

Disclaimer: Must I? I really don't want to be reminded of the fact that I don't own anything really cool…

Chapter 2: The Hybrid

Several months ago, Michael Corvin was an American doctor working in Budapest, Hungary. He had rented out a run-down apartment, he had dined on unhealthy Hungarian fast food more often then not, and his life had been generally normal.

That all changed when he became the target of the lycan, who wanted his pure-Corvinus-strain-containing blood to form a lycan/vampire hybrid. Within a matter of days he had been bitten by both vampire and werewolf, became the afore mentioned hybrid, shot hundreds of times with both regular and silver bullets, met his great-to-the-ten-or-so-power grandfather, had a splintery wooden post stuck through his heart, and come back to life to rip apart the werewolf Elder… in that order. Later, both the vampire and werewolf nations would place a rather large bounty on his and his girlfriend's head, thus starting a massive manhunt that made them enemy numero uno of the underground world.

Since then, he had learned how to fire a gun with deadly accuracy… though it helped that his eyesight was superb thanks to his new genes. Also since then he and Selene had been running from Hungary, to Austria, to Italy, to Genoa, to France, to Spain, to Portugal, back to Spain, back to France, and finally a swim to Great Britain, where they had rented a RV and were now driving around during the night and resting during the day.

Which explained why he was currently sitting in the RV's kitchen area, reading a newspaper and sipping type O-negative blood from a mug as if it were coffee… which it might as well be for a vampire (or part vampire, in his case), since a vampire's (and his) metabolism couldn't handle anything but blood without crapping out.

Speaking of blood… their blood supply had been a lot easier to obtain then they thought. Two months ago they had been taking a walk down daytime London when they came upon a Salvation Army poster saying it was starting an experimental medical program and needed volunteers. He had become interested immediately but Selene was suspicious. After an argument, Selene allowed him to try out for the program.

Turned out the program had been to form a fleet of free medical clinics on wheels. All volunteers would be paid and the organization would supply them with whatever they needed, which, in their case, had been blood, and lots of it. Sure, there were some other things, of course, but it had been mostly blood. When asked, he just said that he liked to be prepared, which they accepted readily enough. Since then they had had an almost infinite supply of blood. He never did let Selene live down the fact that he had been more then right that time. Thankfully she took the ribbing playfully and just reminded him of all the times she saved his ass.

Michael grinned fondly at the memory as he finished off the rest of the blood. He folded up his newspaper, got up and was just starting to wash the mug when he heard the side door open. He knew it was Selene back from watching the sunrise; he found it amazing that even though they were fugitives, she still took the time to watch the sunrise whenever she woke up in time to catch it. But then, she hadn't been able to for six hundred years, so it was understandable.

Racking the mug, he looked up to greet her, but stopped when he saw her gently lay a ragged little bundle on the examination table they had rigged up on one of the fold-out beds (they both slept on the other one). He immediately rushed over, and what he saw shook him to the core: the bloodied and battered body of a young boy who couldn't have been older then twelve. Without a word he grabbed some morphine, put in the required amount in a needle, checked it, and injected it into the body before going to work.

OoOoOoO

Michael was finally able to sit down and rest hours later. Selene had a pouch of blood ready for him, which he accepted gratefully. "What happened?" He asked before taking a sip.

She shook her head. "I don't know, Michael. I was walking back when I saw him… her… it. At first I thought it was dead, and was going to give it a proper burial when I realized it was still breathing. I couldn't bring it to a nearby hospital for obvious reasons, and no way was I calling the police and then leaving him there, so I brought him back here."

He gave her a mock glare. "I'm insulted you didn't think of me first, Selene! I mean, I'm a freak'n doctor, for crying out loud!" He got a slap on the shoulder for his troubles, and they both laughed, the gravity of the situation disappearing for a moment. But then they remembered what was across from them, and the mood became somber once again. "He -and it's a young boy, by the way, no older then twelve- was obviously beaten, and is pretty messed up for it: massive blood loss, several dozen broken bones, head trauma… it's like he got hit by a semi… then dumped in the middle of the Indy 500s, in front of incoming traffic." He took another sip of his pouch of blood.

There was a silent moment as they both gave the body on the table/bed a sad look.

"What now?" Selene asked.

"We wait… wait, and pray for a miracle, because it's going to take one for him to survive this night, and afterwards…" He turned to Selene, and he could feel his eyes start to water from the hopelessness of it all, "Dear God… how can anyone do something like this to a child?"

A/N: Just wanted to say "review", so…

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	4. Chapter 3: And So The Hero Dies

A/N: I would apologize for the long update, but it wasn't long at all, so there! Here's chapter 3 of _Amongst the Dead_.

Disclaimer: I'm feeling lazy today. Go back to the Prologue if you really want to read about how I'm so pathetic.

Chapter 3: And So The Hero Dies…

Several days later, Michael was finally able to stabilize the boy… for the moment, at least. But it was a lot more then they expected, so, for the time being, they were finally able to relax. In celebration, they both broke out packets of AB-negative, the rarest blood type on earth according to the AOB system.

They sat there, sipping the blood and soberly looking in silence at the pitiful figure across from them. "Michael?" Selene suddenly asked, startling the man beside her.

"Yeah, Selene?"

"What do you think happened to him?"

Michael would have groaned, since they had had this particular conversation over and over again in the last several hours, if it weren't for the fact that Selene only asked the same questions repeatedly if she was extremely nervous (which was rather strange, since she was never like this in a fight… maybe it was because she had been fighting for nearly six hundred years, but had never really had the chance to worry about a child's life?). He himself was nervous, so he really couldn't fault her. "Well… it's obvious he's been beaten with a blunt object and slashed multiple times, which can rule out any kind of accident because the wounds are those of purposeful abuse. I'm thinking he was robbed."

"Robbed of what, though? He was in rags before the beating; the clothes were way too worn to have gotten that way in a fight."

"Maybe he was famous, but wore rags to disguise himself. Some American celebrities do it all the time."

"If that were the case, he wouldn't be so skinny. It's obvious he was starved at some point. Maybe he was beaten by his parents or guardians and he ran away from home, but only made it so far?"

"He has both of his legs broken… in multiple places. Walking would have been impossible."

"You said him stabilizing was impossible, too."

"I said improbable, not impossible. There's a difference."

"Okay, then maybe he was beaten half to death, but it looked like he died, so his relatives packed him in a car, drove to some out-of-the-place road, and dumped the body?"

They both stopped there, the thought too disgusting and depressing to continue with, and just looked at the various monitoring equipment surrounding the body, telling them that the pulse, though slow, was steady. The conversation always stopped like this.

After a while of silence, Selene softly said, "I hope I never have to do this with my own children."

This startled Michael; they usually sat for yet another half an hour or so before going to bed. "What?"

"I said I hope I never have to do this with my own children, because if doing this with a complete stranger already hurts so much, it must hurt infinitely more when the stranger is instead one of my own."

He knew there were times, especially in battle, when Selene seemed cold and ruthless, but it was moments like this that showed how she truly was: a kind-hearted soul with too many burdens and deaths upon it. Just looking at her at the moment, tears starting to stream down her cheeks… it just made him want to hold her and protect her from the world and its evils. It was at these times when he found himself falling in love with her all over again.

He sometimes wondered what might have happened if Viktor hadn't killed off her family, blamed it on the lycans, turned her, and manipulated her into becoming his most loyal Death Dealer until recently. He wasn't really sure, but it was these moments when he experienced some guilt for being thankful that all that had happened, because it gave him the chance to be with her. After all, if she hadn't been turned, she would have been long dead and dust centuries before he was even born.

He internally shivered at the thought. Suddenly getting the need to touch Selene and make sure she was still there, he grabbed Selene in a hug and wiped away her tears. He kissed her, and her lips were wanting, searching for comfort.

They spent the night reminding themselves that they had each other.

OoOoOoO

Michael woke to a annoying beeping, thinking his alarm had gone off. His arm was halfway to the nightstand when he remembered he had broken his last alarm clock and had yet to get another one. He checked the monitors, and swore colorfully as he jumped out of bed and started trying to help his patient.

The movement woke Selene, who had been curled up beside him. "What's wrong?" She asked, rubbing at her eyes warily.

"He's slipping!"

"WHAT?!?" She was awake now, getting up and wrapping the blankets around her to cover up her nakedness, despite the fact that it was just her and her lover.

"Hand me 20 milligrams of the streptokinase!" He held out his hand, and Selene, having been in this role many time since the last two months, quickly handed him the bottle and needle. He filled the needle, checked it, and promptly injected it straight into the heart.

"Crap crap crap!!! It's not working! 30 milligrams of the streptokinase!" Selene quickly handed over the inquired item, he filled and checked the needle again, and once more injected the medication straight into the heart.

"It didn't work… shit! Any more would kill him, and I'm out of ideas!"

During this time, Selene had been watching the boy's chest, or more specifically, his heart. The action of sticking a needle in the heart had got her thinking, and though there was a pretty good chance that it might not work, she realized it was their only choice. And so, she took a deep breath and said, "Bite him."

Michael turned to her. "What?!"

"Bite him, Michael."

"But... he's too weak! The shock could kill him! Not to mention he has to be from the line of Alexander Corvinus…"

"It's his best chance! And if it does kill him, well, YOU bit him, so he has a chance of coming back."

"Huh?!" He looked at her as if she had gone completely mad.

"Michael, you came back to me after Marcus ran you though the heart with that pole, remember? That's a mortal wound for all lycan and vampires, but you came back! If he becomes a hybrid, he might be able to do the same!"

Michael looked at her, and saw the determination in her eyes. Determination to save a stranger's life. He was once again reminded just how kind-hearted she was. The beeping sped up.

He sighed. 'Damned if I do, damned if I don't…' he glanced down at the boy for a moment before he leaned over, moved some of the bandages away from his jugular, bit down and drank a bit of the blood. The immediate rush of power was so great he was almost lost, and it was everything he could do to fight the current and pull his fangs from the boy's neck.

"Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…"

He looked down on the boy's body again, but this time he was wary. What in God's name had that rush of power been? Shaking his head and deciding to deal with the mystery later, he turned to Selene and said, "Well, now we wait. I hope you were right, Selene."

She nodded. "Me too, Michael, me too…"

A/N: According to wikipedia, Streptokinase is an… "extracellular metallo-enzyme produced by beta-haemolytic streptococcus and is used as an effective and cheap clot-dissolving medication in some cases of myocardial infarction (heart attack) and pulmonary embolism." Since it's a prototype mobile medical unit, whatever branch of the Salvation Army that sponsored this fictitious program is obviously not going to get much money… which means they're probably going to have the cheap (though relatively safe) stuff for their volunteers.

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	5. Chapter 4: Return to the Living Dead

A/N: Here's chapter four. It's a bit angst-y, but I'll make up for it with the title. Admit it, it's clever! …No? Fine, be that way! Nah!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Underworld: Evolution. I would put a disclaimer about the other things I used for this fic, but they haven't played a part yet, and I'm feeling lazy today.

Chapter 4: Return to the Living… Dead

Harry was standing in front of some kind of archway, staring at the rippling curtain that covered it. Moments before he was reliving a sequence consisting of every time the Dursleys beat him, followed by the whole sorcerer's stone and Chamber of Secrets fiascos, and ending with Malfoy's attack before recycling. He thought he was about to go mad from having to go through all the pain again when he felt a sharp pain, more pronounced then the others, in the side of his neck. The other pains instantly vanished, and he found himself here... wherever "here" was.

But he didn't care, because right now he could hear people whispering to him from behind the curtain, people who loved and cared for him, and wanted to finally be with him. He had the feeling that if he went through right now, he would never return, and something would be lost. But he was so tired… more tired then any twelve-year-old boy had any right to be. So what if he would lose something? He didn't care. All he wanted was eternal rest.

His mind decided, he took one step toward the rippling curtain… and froze. He struggled to take another step, the last step, but his body (did he even have a body at the moment?) wouldn't respond. He almost cried; he was so close! So close to finally getting away from it all! Curse fate! Curse Death! Curse whoever the hell was keeping him from getting some rest!

A deep chuckle. "Oh, c'mon now! Don't be like that! You know as well as I do that it just isn't your time yet! Hell, if this works, it may NEVER be your time… which, by the way, would be a good thing."

Harry tried to look around for the speaker, but found himself still frozen... except for his mouth and vocal cords. "Who is this?" He shouted, though it came out more as a whimper, "Where are you?"

"All in good time, all in good time. I'm just here to tell you that you can't go through the Veil yet, and you've got to find some of your old toys," the voice said.

"Wha? Toys? I never had any toys! The Dursleys never gave me any… well, any playable ones, at any rate."

"Oh, you never had these, but they were yours." A staff, one end white, the other end black, and blended seamlessly in the center, suddenly appeared. It just as quickly disappeared, and was followed by a pure black great spear, then an equally black Japanese sword (a katana, he thought it was called), then a scythe with a burnt wooden handle. As the last weapon disappeared, Harry had an eerie sense of familiarity with them, which puzzled him as much as frightened, because the only weapon he had had contact with was Gryffindor's sword and, if it could really be counted as such, his wand.

The voice was speaking again. "When you've found them, bring them here and throw them into the Veil. I think you'll like what comes out. Well, you better get going! I think your caretakers are getting a bit worried!"

Harry felt himself start drifting, and asked again, "Who are you?"

A pause, then: "An old friend, one who should have listened to you a long time ago," was the reply, tinted with a sorrow that felt beyond this world. It passed quick enough, though, and with a cheery "See you soon!", the room faded into white, and Harry knew no more.

Harry woke up to the smiling face of a rather pretty young woman who couldn't have been more then twenty. Her short black hair was a bit messy, sure, and her kind brown eyes showed signs of stress, but she was pretty nonetheless.

"Hello," he tried to say, but only managed to croak out a barely understandable "'Lo."

"Shhh… you've just woken up from quite an ordeal, and are weak. Here, drink this." She put a straw between his lips. He started drinking, and he could immediately feel his strength returning. Whatever the drink was, it was rich, sweet, and all together good, so he didn't dwell on it. What he did dwell on was the woman's accent; it definitely wasn't British, but it wasn't American either, nor French. It WAS European, though… Russian, maybe?

He was wondering where she was from when another stranger, this time a man in his mid twenty's and looking just as tired, stepped into his field of vision. "Good to see you up and about, cousin." The man said. He had a recognizable American accent and- wait… did he just say "cousin"?

At the startled look that must have crossed his face, the American laughed. "I can only turn people who are from the line of Alexander Corvinus. That's how I know."

Harry blinked. Turn? Alexander who? What the hell was this guy talking about?

The man laughed again. "Never mind for now, kid. What's your name?" The man had a cheerful laugh that seemed to be able to brighten up the most melancholy souls. Harry smiled shyly.

"Harry, sir. Harry Potter."

"Well, kid, my name's Michael Corvin, and the beautiful lady that's been taking care of you for the last couple days is Selene, my girlfriend." The pretty lady he woke up to grinned at him, causing him to blush as red as Ron's hair. When Michael noticed this he said with a mock scowl, "Hey kid, keep your mitts off!"

He knew, intellectually, that the American was only joking, probably in an ill attempt at lightening the mood, but suddenly Harry found himself four again, and Uncle Vernon was looming over him with a cane, about to beat him for stealing one of Dudley's two dozen cookies. Without even realizing it, he scurried away to the corner of the bed, a terror he had once thought he had gotten under control running rampant through his body once more.

Michael's scowl disappeared and was replaced by a concerned frown. "Harry? Are you alright?" Selene asked, also looking concerned.

Harry blinked, and he was in… wherever he woke up, breathing hard and shivering. "Sorry sir. I won't touch her, sir," he said, finding himself illogically hoping the man wouldn't beat him like Uncle Vernon would; he knew the man wouldn't, but… well, some precautions would never be outgrown.

Michael's frown deepened, and for a moment Harry damned logic and was pretty sure that his submission hadn't worked, and that he was going to be beaten. Michael grabbed a seat, leaned in, and Harry reflexively closed his eyes and curled up, getting ready for the blow that was sure to come…

The blow never came. "Kid… I was joking, Harry."

Harry opened his eyes, but kept himself curled, just in case it was too good to be true. "You're not going to… hit me, or anything, sir?" Harry asked tentatively.

"Of course not, kid. Why would I?"

"My Uncle beat me whenever I did something wrong."

"…" Michael's eyes, originally a warm blue, hardened and turned cold. "Is that why you were out in the middle of no where, almost dead?"

It took Harry a few minutes to figure out what he was referring to. "Wha-? Oh, that. No. That was Lucius Malfoy. He ambushed me, tortured me for a bit, then broke my wand to taunt me and left me there to die. But I guess I had it coming, since I did take away one of his house elves and destroyed one of his dark artifacts… not to mention ruin his latest plans for pureblood supremacy…"

"Wand? House elf? I think you better start from the beginning," Michael said, confusion rather evident on his face.

And, momentarily forgetting about the Statute of Secrecy, that's just what Harry did, starting from when Hagrid came to that little shack on the sea and ending with Malfoy's attack. At the end of his tale Michael was looking a bit stunned while Selene was looking impressed.

It took a while for Michael to find his voice again, but when he did, he said, "So let me get this straight… you're a wizard in training?"

Harry nodded.

"…At a school of magic in Scotland that 'muggles', or non-magical people like me, won't be able to find?"

Nod.

"And at this school, of which you've just recently only completed your first two years, you've already had to find and protect a mythological substance and kill a giant snake with Medusa-like powers?"

Nod.

"Then you came home to your 'oh so loving' relatives, decided to take up something as normal as jogging, and was attacked on your first jog by some petty bastard who had it in for you for freeing one of his slaves-slash-pets?"

Another nod.

Michael blinked and, to Harry's great surprise, shrugged and said, "Meh. I've been through stranger things; what's helping out a wizard-in-training who's been seriously screwed by fate? Explains the power rush I got earlier, at any rate."

"You believe me, sir?"

"Before I wouldn't, but then I met Selene and got these." Michael showed Harry his canines, which were quite longer then usual. Startled, Harry put two and two together and, when he realized what Michael, and probably Selene, was, he gasped and tried to scurry away even further, though he was already as far as he could go.

"Y-you're a v-vampire!" He stuttered.

"Not really. I'm a vampire-werewolf hybrid. Selene's the vampire." Michael said.

"Actually, I'm what my people call a 'Daywalker', because I drank some of Alexander Corvinus's blood. I can walk around in the daytime and not die." Selene said. It was then that Harry noticed the beam of sunlight on her face, as irrelevant as it was.

"What do you two want with me?" He asked.

"Nothing… well, I do kinda want to know who your parents were, because I'd always thought I had no relatives left."

"You're not working for Voldemort?"

"Volde-what? What kinda name is that?" Michael asked, leaning back and scratching his head in confusion.

"Hmmm… I think I remember somebody who went by that name, once. He had sent an envoy to try and strike up an alliance with Amelia about a decade and a half ago. Amelia told him to give her time to think about it, Voldemort's envoy left, and never came back. Good thing, too; I had the strangest feeling that he was going to backstab us." Selene said, looking thoughtful, "Why is such a powerful dark wizard after you, Harry?"

Despite the situation, Harry blushed and sheepishly looked down at his blanket. "I kinda… almost killed him when I was one."

Selene's eyes widened. "You did? How?"

"Dumbledore –the headmaster of Hogwarts- said something about a mother's love. My mum died trying to protect me."

Selene raised a trimmed eyebrow. "A mother's love? Must have been blood magic. We vampires can do it to a certain degree, though we have to be very old, and even then it's only a few offensive spells." The last part was added at Harry's questioning look.

It was at this moment that Michael finally notice a rather strange inconsistency with Selene's story: mainly, how she seemed to already know about the wizards. "Selene?"

"Yes?"

"I'm suddenly getting the feeling that you know about this magic thing."

"That's because I do, Michael," Selene said matter-of-factly, as if it were obvious.

"But… how? Why didn't you tell me?" Harry could see that Michael wasn't offended… literally; that "puppy eyes" look he was giving his girlfriend said all that needed to be said.

"We're vampires, they're wizards; we're both secret societies living amongst the normal population. Of course we're going to find each other eventually…" she shrugged, then gave a rather sexy smirk that had Harry blushing, even though it wasn't targeted at him. "…Oh, and you didn't ask."

"Selene…!" Michael whined. Harry found himself snickering at how overly pathetic (and obviously fake) the man sounded.

"Michael!" Selene mimicked, making Michael huff in mock-irritation.

Harry watched on, feeling something strange at seeing the two bicker like this, so obviously in love and not falling out of it any time soon. It was… heartwarming, he though the term was; he'd seen precious little of anything that could be considered heartwarming in his life. He soaked in it, not sure when he would feel it again.

"Ahem… anyways," Michael started in an attempt to change the subject, "who are your parents, anyway? I'm pretty curious.".

"James Potter and Lily Evans-Potter. Why do you keep asking me that?" Harry replied, letting him; as funny and comfortable as the previous scene has been, there has still been something private about it that had a small part of him rather embarrassed at having witness it.

"Ah… that explains a lot. Always wondered what happened to Lily." Michael muttered.

"You knew my mum?"

"Yeah. We were cousins, and my family would visit hers once every one or two years until I was eight. We got a letter saying she died in a house fire several years ago… though I never knew she had had a son. Of course, now that I look at you, it's so obvious; I might not know how her husband- your dad- looked, but I knew her eyes, and yours are just like hers."

Harry gave a small, musing smile. "Yeah, I've heard people say that…" he said. They shared a moment of silence, Harry wondering why Aunt Petunia never mentioned he had an… uncle? Cousin? He wasn't really sure how exactly Michael was related to him, but it hurt- just a bit, since he was used to this by now- that his aunt had deemed undeserving to at least know she wasn't all he had.

Michael weakly cleared his throat and changed the subject. Once again, Harry let him, for much the same reason as last time. "As for why I keep on asking: I can only turn a relative; anybody else would die."

"Oh… wait, turn?! I'm a vampire?!" And for the third time in less then an hour, Harry freaked out. A small voice at the back of his head commented on how all this emotional upheaval was seriously not good for his health at the moment.

"Hybrid, kid, and it was the only way to save you. You were dying and what I was doing wouldn't take. I thought you were a goner when Selene suggested I turn you- seeing as how if I came back to life from a mortal wound, maybe me turning you would allow you to do the same." Michael said, trying to calm him down.

"I would have done it myself, but I'm still not sure what would happen if I took a stake through the heart, so it was safer to let Michael do it," Selene chipped in.

"But… this means I really can't go back to the wizarding world now! They hate vampires, and werewolves only fare a little better!" Harry said, then sighed in defeat. "Great… Now I'm going to be spending the rest of my life at the Dursleys…"

On hearing that, Michael scoffed. "Kid, you're going back to those bastards over my dead body, which means never, seeing as how I apparently can't die; it's obvious they don't like you, so I don't think they'll mind if you disappeared, sad as it is."

"But… Dumbledore said I had to go there for my protection!"

"Protection? If your really are being abused by them, which I have no doubt you are, you'd be dead or suicidal within five or so years. This Dumbledore's an idiot if he thinks that's worth this so called 'protection'. No, you're definitely coming with us. Though we maybe on the run, we can probably protect you a whole lot better then whatever voodoo magic crap your headmaster's got on you." And with that Michael got up, stretched, and headed for the front of what Harry could now see as a RV.

"Wow… he's never this decisive… you must have grown on him, Harry." Selene said, looking on as Michael buckled in and started the ignition.

"…On the run?" Out of Michael's tirade, Harry had only caught that one part.

Selene sighed and said, "Yes. The vampires and the lycan are after us because, well, I'll tell you some other time. For now, drink." She handed Harry his drink from earlier, which he saw now was a pouch with a straw sticking out of it. Harry took it and started sipping, only slightly comprehending the fact that he was drinking blood; his subconscious mind had by now decided that the only way to keep him from going insane was to make sure nothing else was going to be overly surprising.

A/N: I actually did quite a bit of rewriting for this chapter; it just didn't seem very good the second time I read it through. Of course, it still seems a bit off, but maybe that's just the whole "you are your own worst critic" part of me speaking.

Review!


	6. Chapter 5: A Hero Changed

A/N: And here's chapter 5. I don't know why, but this one seemed a little… off to me. Unfortunately, I can't find whatever little asinine quirk is making me feel that, so I'm going to post it up any way. Oh… I hope it's just me…

Disclaimer: I do not own Underworld: Evolution or Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't be having the problems I have now.

Chapter 5: A Hero Changed

"C'mon c'mon c'mon! Where is it?" Fourteen-year-old Harry Potter ran through the woods, a pack of werewolves a short distance behind him. This had been going on for the last half-hour, with Harry firing his twin Uzis over his shoulders every chance he got.

Eventually he could see a clearing ahead, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He sprinted the last dozen feet into the clearing, stopped, and turned around. Immediately his skin went black, his face elongated, and his chest muscles broadened as he changed.

When the werewolves finally came into the clearing, they found a pure black and less furry member of their own brethren. Confused, they faltered in their attack, giving the black werewolf and his companion, another black werewolf that had dropped from a tree behind the pursuers as soon as they cleared the tree line, time to attack. The battle, if one could call it that, lasted only several minutes as both of the black lycan ripped the group of regular lycan apart.

As soon as they were done, one of the black lycan let out a howl, and a woman with dangerous, electric-blue eyes appeared as if from no where, reloading her twin Desert Eagles. As soon as she appeared, the forms of both lycan shifted, melting to reveal none other then Harry and Michael.

"None of the hunting party lives." Selene said as her eyes changed back into her regular warm brown, though right now they were cold.

"Thank God. I thought we would have been found out for sure," Harry said, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah… I'm still really sorry about that, by the way." Michael muttered sheepishly.

"I still don't get how you literally bump into a pack of hunters in broad daylight without seeing them! I mean, c'mon! It's not exactly like they're inconspicuous!" Harry said, glaring at Michael. Selene joined in, trying to hide an amused smile as she watched her two boys bickering… again.

"I was preoccupied, alright? It's not everyday when you're e-mailed by Tokyo University and asked what to do with a particularly deadly poison. Besides, they were probably already hunting me, since they can sense a fellow werewolf miles away."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever… how did Tokyo University get your e-mail address, anyway?"

"Err… I kinda… started a correspondence with one of the researchers. You know, to keep up to date."

Harry sighed. "You and your love of anything medical… it's not healthy, I tell you."

"Yeah, well, so is your interest in anything having to do with fighting."

"Michael, we're on the run from two underground empires that want us dead and burned to ashes."

"So? You're fourteen, for Christ's sake! You're supposed to be more interested in hot babes and how to get rid of zits!"

"Well, I don't get zits, and I'm not a pervert like you, so there!" Harry childishly stuck his tongue out.

"PERVERT?! Why I oughta…!"

Harry blew him a raspberry and took of at a dead run, laughing as Michael chased him. Selene chuckled as she watched her boyfriend and the boy she had come to see as her son chase each other and trading insults as they made their way back to the RV.

OoOoOoO

It had been almost two years since Harry had joined up with the undead couple that pretty much broke all stereotypes and defied all human-known knowledge of vampires and werewolves. At first he was shy, and kept on treating the situation as if it were a dream that he would wake up from soon and find himself back in his small room on Number 4 Privet Drive. But then time passed, and he warmed up to the whole situation, despite the fact that, like Selene and Michael, he was now on the run from the vampires and the lycan.

It had taken him a week to finally regain his strength, and in that time he learned a number of things, like the fact that he didn't need his glasses anymore, and the fact that he had a natural aptitude for video games, evident by when he beat Michael in Tekken 3 on the PS they had gotten, despite the fact that Harry had never played a video game in his life until that moment.

He also found out more about the vampire and lycan nations from being forced to sit through Selene's stories/history lectures (to be fair, though, he usually brought them upon himself by asking questions). He was surprised to find that the vampires and lycan had started from the same family, the Line of Corvinus, and that the lycan had actually been the day time servants of the vampires until the Elder Victor had executed his own daughter, who had been in love with Lucian, the leader of the werewolves, and was with his child. Lucian, who had been forced to watch the gruesome death, went half-mad with grief and led a rebellion against the vampires… the rebellion that lasted to the present day, despite the death of its founder.

He also learned that the only thing that really killed vampires was sunlight, the only thing that really killed werewolves was silver, and the only way to kill both was disrupt their nerve pathways or permanently stop blood flow- i.e. decapitation, neck snapping, a bullet to the head, or a stake to the heart. Everything else- garlic, crosses, etc.- was just superstition. Of course, since the three of them could walk around during the day, and Michael and Harry were part vampire, the first two didn't work for them. Also, Michael, and presumably Harry, could take a wooden pole through the heart and still live, so it was assumed that some of the other ways didn't work anymore, too. The three of them were essentially immortal.

At the end of the week, Selene had started helping him rebuild what little muscle he had before, then beyond with self-defense lessons (Michael didn't need to teach him how to transform because it became an instinct as soon as one was turned). At the same time she had started teaching him how to handle a gun. She was surprised but pleased to find that as soon as Harry figured out how to use a gun, he could shoot a falling leaf over and over again from five hundred feet. When she congratulated him and asked how he did it, he said he was the Seeker on the Gryffindor House Quidditch Team. This launched a whole explanation of what Quidditch was and, when Selene finally understood, its merits against other sports.

For the first couple weeks after Harry's "disappearance", he, Michael, and Selene had looked for any sign that Harry was missed. There wasn't even the slightest article about him in the muggle newspapers, which was expected, but when Harry found out the response from the wizarding world, he had nearly cracked and withdrawn from the world.

It had been three weeks after Harry woke up, and he and Selene were in London shopping for some of his own clothes (he had been wearing Michael's) when he spied a rather curious man browsing among some socks. Seeing a chance to learn what had happened in the wizarding world after his "disappearance" he went over, grabbed a cap as he did and shoved it on his head to hide his scar, and asked for news from the rather obvious wizard (the guy was wearing an Armani suit with sandals and a straw hat, for crying out loud!). The man told them that Harry Potter had been, after only three days of searching, pronounced dead and a fake by both Cornelius Fudge and Albus Dumbledore, who then said that the real Boy-Who-Lived was a boy named Neville Longbottom. Even the Boy-Who-Faked's best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, supported the claim; they claimed he was too ignorant to be the Savior of the Wizarding World.

Harry had stiffly thanked the man and went back to Selene, and told her the news in a cold, hollow voice. She gently lead him out of the department store, back to the hotel they were staying at, and watched as Harry had immediately gone to his bed and curled up into a little ball. It had taken them five days to get him to drink anything, and another week to finally let go and cry about it. He came out of the event with a rather heavy dislike for the world he once thought of as his home.

Of course, it took him time to recover from the shock of having the wizarding world throw him away, and during that time Harry had thrown himself into his studies along with his training, both taught by Selene and, to the extent of studies only, Michael. Over time Harry had pretty much mastered World History, Human Biology, and, to a certain extent, Biological Chemistry, with passing (as in 12th grade level) knowledge in the other subjects. It had surprised all of them just how smart Harry was, though Harry was the most surprised since he had always gotten average grades in both elementary school and later Hogwarts.

After all was said and done, and two years passed, Harry had changed from the shy little boy he once was. He was now tall (5' 11") and well built, with an aura of confidence, strength, and maturity that didn't- shouldn't- really fit him. His hair had grown long enough for him to keep it in a ponytail, though he always let some in the front stay untied, so that it would hide the now faded-to-barely-visible lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. His clothing choice was now dark and comfortable, but at the same time efficient and intimidating. Essentially, his wardrobe consisted of black pants, black t-shirts, black army boots, and a black trench coat that he wore all the time. Completing his usual attire was a pair of sunglasses and a pair of Uzis that he had gotten from Selene when his firearms training was complete. If any of his former friends saw him now, they wouldn't recognize him… and he wouldn't have cared even if they did.

OoOoOoO

"_My… the first of the Dark Companions is nearby. You work fast, don't you, old friend?"_

"_If I say yes, will you tell me who you are?"_

_A laugh. "I see you're developing a sense of humor! A welcome change, if I do say so myself; the Rebellion extinguished the spark in you, and I always blamed myself for that…"_

"_Rebellion?"_

"_All in good time, all in good time…"_

"_Well, can you at least give me a clue? Are there any traps? Obstacles? Is there a guardian of some kind?"_

"…_Well… maybe just a small clue: there is a guardian, and you will have to prove your worth to him, for he has been Caput Mortuum's caretaker for centuries now, and will not give up that position lightly."_

"_Great…"_

OoOoOoO

The next day Harry woke up early, his head still buzzing from the dream that he'd had, but forgotten. He knew it was linked to the dream he had when he first woke up that day two years ago, but he really couldn't remember that one either. Shaking his head, he got up to prepare for the day.

Several minutes later, he was sipping some A-positive from a pouch, staring out the window at the sunrise. He grinned, and was reminded of how much Selene loved the sunrise, even after three years as a Daywalker. Turning his eyes up, he tried to remember the dream he'd had, but found that he still couldn't. He frowned in frustration and looked outside again, and decided that maybe a morning walk would help. He felt a rising fear at the suggestion, but squashed it. He wasn't twelve anymore- hell, he wasn't even a normal human anymore!- and now knew to be more alert… not to mention nobody who would care knew where he was, and even if they did he would be able to sense them within three hundred feet. After scribbling a hasty note to Selene and Michael, he grabbed his trench coat and left the RV.

He walked, letting the cool forest air wash over him and clear his mind before trying to remember his dream again. He went deep into thought, and almost walked into the side of a cliff, fifteen minutes later. Startled, he looked around to gain his bearings, and noticed the entrance to a cave several feet from him. He looked into the cave, debating whether he should go in. But in the end, curiosity got the better of him, and he entered.

After another fifteen minutes of following a twisting and curving path, Harry came to a dead end, and was about to turn and go back when he realized that a section of the wall was GLOWING. It was a faint glow, but it was there nonetheless, covering a door-sized patch of wall. Walking up to it, he suddenly felt… detached and light, and just barely realized he was watching himself touch the glowing section with his hand. It was only slight surprised that registered in his mind when the glowing section disappeared to reveal a room lit by torches, with an altar in the middle. On the altar, floating several inches off the surface, was a familiar looking scythe, glowing with a menacing dark aura.

"The scythe from my dream…" Harry heard himself mutter as he reached for it. His hands came closer… closer…

There was a loud boom, and Harry, now awake and in his body again, turned around to see that the entrance had become blocked by a slab of rock. On top of that rock was…

"Aw shit…." Harry simply said, staring at the eight foot werewolf above him.

A/N: I made up the werewolf detection thing; I was thinking something that made giving werewolves their own internal radar seem like such a good idea, but I can't remember what it was. Heh, figures.

Keep the reviews coming, please!!


	7. Chapter 6: Caput Mortuum

A/N: For those of you who are wondering, Caput Mortuum is actually from the Dungeons and Dragons RPG. That said…

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Underworld: Evolution, and the Caput Mortuum. Sorry, but no wise cracks today.

Chapter 6: Caput Mortuum

Selene woke up and frowned when she found that she had missed the sunrise. But then she shrugged if off; there was always tomorrow, and it really wasn't her fault. After all, after six hundred years of sleeping during the day, it took a while to get readjusted to sleeping at night.

She went through her morning routine before going to the small icebox they had installed with the intent of getting some blood. There, she found small note tacked onto the door, held in place by one of the souvenir magnets Michael has gotten when they were in France.

"_Going for a walk. Be back soon. –Harry_"

She found nothing else on the back, and put it down on the table as she looked out the window. She knew he would keep out of trouble… hopefully.

"He better keep out of trouble, or I'll have his head!" She muttered to herself before yawning and turning back to the icebox.

The giant beast howled, and Harry's blood went cold. How the hell did he not sense that… thing before?! A small part, the part that wasn't trying to figure out how to get out of this situation he had found himself in alive, speculated that whatever the hell was making the wall glow outside the room was probably doing something to his senses.

The beast of a lycan ("Oh look! A funny!" that little part of his mind crowed before the rest of him stomped on it) jumped of its perch and landed on the floor with an earth-shattering boom. Harry tried to walk backwards, but found the altar-like thing in his way.

His way blocked, he instead grinned uneasily up at the giant and asked, "Ummm… any chance we could work this out?" The roar he got in reply was all the answer he needed. "Guess not," He muttered, "Damn it all…"

The giant suddenly charged at him, and it was all he could to leap aside as the altar behind where he used to be practically exploded. He immediately drew his Uzis and fired into the cloud of dust that had came with the explosion, only to see the beast come charging out against the silver bullets as if they weren't even there. All Harry could get out was an astonished "Oh sh-!" before he was backhanded into unyielding stone, his Uzi's clattering away to the wall opposite.

He shook his head, trying to clear the ringing in his ears, and barely got out of the way in time to avoid another charging attack from the giant werewolf. Stepping back as far as he could, he started his transformation. By the time the beast had cleared the resulting dust cloud, Harry was fully transformed and waiting for him.

What passed for the next hour or so couldn't be described as anything other then an outright brawl between two titans (well, it was technically titan versus newbie, but one gets the drift). By the time Harry was thrown into yet another wall, bruised and slightly bloodied, the room looked more like the cave outside then the relatively neat temple-like room it had been. He was breathing hard and was extremely tired, but took delight in the fact that his opponent was in no better shape.

"Or not…" Harry thought as he saw the giant werewolf get ready to charge again. He groaned; there was no way he would survive the next charge, and he was too spent to move. Resigned to his fate, he transformed back and let his hands fall to his sides… and felt cold metal. He grinned. His Uzis! Maybe he had a chance after all! He checked his ammo, and found that he only had enough for a short burst. "I'm going to have to time this just right…" He thought to himself.

The giant werewolf suddenly charged again, and it was all Harry could do to stand up and face him, his Uzis trained and ready. He watched as the werewolf got closer… a thirty meters… 15 meters… 3 meters… the werewolf roared in triumph over his next kill.

"Now!" Harry mentally barked as he pulled the trigger. Ten silver bullets smashed into the werewolf's still open mouth. The werewolf's eyes went wide, and it stumbled the last meter before dropping like a bag of stones, less then a meter away from where Harry stood.

When the dust cleared, Harry was stunned to find that it was still alive; the thing just took ten silver bullets down the gullet, for Christ's sake! But, before Harry's eyes, it seemed to be changing now, growing smaller and smaller until the werewolf was replaced with an old man. Harry blinked; did he just almost get his ass handed to him by an old geezer? Sure, he was a rather buff old geezer, but still-!

The old man coughed weakly and grinned. "That was a truly amazing fight, my boy. Not many people would stand up to a charging werewolf like that."

"Wha… how the hell are you STILL ALIVE?!?" Harry exclaimed.

"I am ancient; I have lived through so many battles that I have developed a… immunity of sorts, if you will, to the poisoning effects of silver," the old man gasped out, before going into a coughing fit. He continued when the fit subsided, "My boy, do you see that scythe over there by the corner?" he asked.

Harry looked at the indicated direction, and was stunned to find the scythe from the altar not only still whole, but floating and emitting an even darker aura then before. All Harry could do was nod in his shock.

"Take some of my blood and sprinkle it on the blade." Blinking at the strange request, but too shocked to even begin thinking it though in a reasonably logical manner, Harry scooped up some of the old man's blood (there was plenty of it, since, well… they were just in a fight a minute ago), went over, and did as he was told.

Seeing that the deed was done, the old man breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, child," he said, giving Harry a smile that might as well have been a grimace. "Now take the Caput Mortuum, for it is yours, and be ready for my companion, who I have just contacted. Do not worry, though, for he… will not… harm… you…" he trailed off as he, in a rather anticlimactic way, died.

And without warning, Harry once again entered the dream-like state that had led him into the chamber. He watched himself lean over to pick up the scythe with distant excitement. As soon as his hands grasped the handle, the room faded away…

OoOoOoO

_A fountain, more beautiful then any man-made structure. Two beings sat… beings that were more beautiful then beauty, more powerful then power, more majestic then majesty… they spoke, and Harry wondered why he didn't go made with joy at the voice._

"_You know, I've been thinking, Azrael," the blond one said._

"_Oh? And what is it this time, Lucifer?" the raven-haired one replied._

"_We are the most powerful beings ever created by the Almighty, and yet, in a way, these humans that He is planning to create will have more power then us. Does that seem right to you?"_

"_It is the Lord's will…"_

"_It is the Lord's will to have his greatest creations be nothing more then slaves?"_

"_Lucifer! That's blasphemy! And I would hardly think we're slaves."_

"_Azrael, that's what we are, in essence. We are but the slaves of the Almighty's will!"_

"_Well, so are the humans, and you don't see them complaining."_

"_The humans aren't slaves. They have free will, something that the Almighty has seen not fit to give us!"_

"_He must have a reason, Lucifer. He always does."_

"_Well, I say he can take that reason and shove it! We're his greatest creation! We deserve better!"_

"_Right, and what are you going to do about it? Lead a strike?"_

"_If I do, will you lead it with me?"_

"…_Don't tell me you're actually considering…?"_

"_Yes! And you'll lead it with me, won't you, brother?"_

"_No; nothing good will come of it, and you know it!"_

"_But… sometimes it takes a wrong to make others see the right."_

"…_You did NOT just say that…"_

"_Azrael, trust me."_

"_Err…"_

"_Have I ever been wrong before?"_

"_Well, no… oh, fine! But let it show on the record that this was NOT my idea!"_

"_It will work, Azrael! Now, this is what we're going to do is get Abaddon and Eris and…" The scene fades._

OoOoOoO

Harry woke up outside the cave entrance, the Caput Mortuum and his Uzis lying nearby. The first think he did was take a look at his watch to see what time. It was 5:30 pm. "SHIT!!" He swore before grabbing his Uzis and his new scythe, slipped the Uzis into their holsters and the Caput Mortuum into the waistband of his pants, and took off at a dead sprint for what he perceived was Michael's presence.

When he arrived, he found Michael sitting outside the RV sipping cooled blood while Selene looked frantic. As soon as they noticed him, Selene rushed over, gave him a rib-creaking bear hug, and checked him over… then promptly smacked him upside the head and screamed about how he worried her sick when he disappeared and didn't come back for almost eleven hours. Michael looked on, curiosity, amusement, and just a touch of worry in his blue eyes.

"Harry," Michael suddenly said, stopping Selene's tirade, "How did you hide your presence from me? I didn't notice your presence until just a few moments ago."

"That would be my fault, I'm afraid. I had built the shrine near a large vein of silver, which masks the presence of a lycan to all but the oldest and strongest of our kind."

They all jumped and turned to the new speaker, and found the ghostly form of a heavily muscled werewolf wearing ancient shoulder and knee armor and armed with steel claws.

"The hell?! You're supposed to be dead! I killed you… kinda." Harry said after a moment of shocked silence.

"True, my boy, true, but I can never truly die since my soul is bonded to the Caput Mortuum." The werewolf said with a deep chuckle.

"What do you want?" Selene asked. By now, she and Michael had both gotten over the shock of what was could very well be the ghost of a werewolf Elder standing before them. Selene's hand rested on her hip, where she hid a small pistol for emergencies.

"Me? Why, I want to train this boy here as my heir to the fighting arts of the Wolf Barons. He might not need it, of course, if he is what I think he is, but to say that I got to train… but that is not my place to tell." The werewolf grinned, showing all of his sharp teeth. "You know, I never did introduce myself," he said in an obvious attempt at changing the topic. The three livings beings at the moment were too shocked to stop him. " I am Zylo of the Dark Moon Clan, last- will I was the last, at any rate- of the Wolf Barons."

"Err… I'm Harry Potter, wizard outcast."

"Selene, formerly of the Death Dealers."

"Michael Corvin, doctor."

The ghost of Zylo chuckled. "A wizard, an assassin, and a werewolf doctor! Looks like my afterlife is going to be a lot more interesting then my actual life was!" And with that, he turned and ghosted through the door of the RV. Selene and Michael watched him go before turning to Harry and giving him simultaneous 'tell-me-everything-or-there-will-be-much-pain' looks. Harry sighed and told them of his little adventure.

OoOoOoO

Meanwhile, in the deepest basement of an old mansion, a tall, menacing figure stalked through the basement halls. He made a sudden turn to the right and came upon a room whose only occupant was a long, floating, linen-wrapped bundle, surrounded by an aura of darkness. He smirked.

"So, Zylo has found him. It seems it is my turn," he muttered, before grabbing the bundle and heading back the way he came.

A/N: And the plot thickens! Well, if one can even consider this a plot, at any rate… Oh, and Zylo is based on the Wolf Warrior from Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon. Cool game, I suggest you play it if you're into turn-based RPG's or strategy.

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	8. Chapter 7: Thanifex

A/N: Updates may take awhile, since I review and correct each chapter before I update. But look on the bright side: it could be worse- I could be writing this from scratch, in which case there would be a good chance that all of you will be waiting months before a new chapter is uploaded. As it is, that's probably going to be the case for the sequel.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Underworld: Evolution, the character Zylo, the scythe Caput Mortuum and the spear Thanifex (yes, it's another cameo from D&D), and, now, Hellsing and Steamboy. What I DO own is Seeker ass in _Advent Rising_… which is one cool game, by the way.

Chapter 7: Thanifex

Harry flipped through the channels on the telly, half listening as Zylo remarked on the wonders of technology. It was two weeks after the cave incident, and Michael and Selene had decided to rent some rooms in London for the week. They kept on saying it was so Harry knew that life wasn't always on the road and running, but he knew the truth: they had wanted… "alone time". They were like freaking rabbits (oh look, another funny!), with how many times they'd gone at it these past two days already! Hell, they hadn't even left their rooms during that time! Harry shuddered at the thought; he REALLY didn't want to go there, so he turned his mind to other topics.

His training with Zylo was going well. It turned out that the fighting arts of the Wolf Barons was really the ability to invoke a berserker state at will, but the mind was kept so that he could still strategize, get out of his "crazed state whenever needed, and, though this wasn't going to come into his training until much later, utilize something Zylo called "Dark Psynergy". He really didn't know what that last part was, and Zylo wouldn't tell him, saying somebody else would help him get in touch with his "Dark Core", whatever that was. Apparently this called for meditation… lots and lots of meditation. Thankfully, meditation could be achieved by practicing his stance and forms (two of the ways the berserker state was controlled), so Harry wasn't bored and restless all the time.

But right now he was, because he had orders from Selene, Michael, and Zylo to take a break, their reason being they were afraid he was going to burn out, or some other nonsense like that. He had scoffed at the notion, but had complied nonetheless, because, though he had immense respect for both Zylo and Michael, the thought of Selene going on a rampage scared the hell out of him. On hindsight, he saw now, Selene was a lot like Mrs. Weasley… only when she got mad she had the strength to back it up, as opposed to the Weasley matriarch, who worked on intimidation alone.

The thought of the motherly Mrs. Weasley suddenly brought back thoughts of his former friends, and the times they spent together. He growled softly at the memory; that was in the past. After all, they, along with the wizarding world, had abandoned him after he "disappeared". He saved them from Voldemort's return not once, but TWICE, with the second time saving a Weasley too! And they just threw him out the second he became an inconvenience? Good riddance to them, he figured!

"Ungrateful bastards, the lot of them…" He muttered to himself, trying to stave off the tears that threatened to leak out.

"What was that, Harry?" Zylo asked from his spot next to him on the couch (how does a ghost sit on a couch?). Harry turned to his teacher and found concerned eyes on him.

"It's nothing, Zylo," He replied, turning away and wiping angrily at his eyes.

"If it is about your past, I tell you that you should let it go. After all, they let you go, so it is only fair that you return the favor." Harry was surprised for a moment, but then remembered that Zylo was… well, he really didn't know just how old Zylo was, but it had to be pretty old. It would only be natural that Zylo would know these things, since, as the old saying went: "with age comes wisdom", or something along those lines.

Harry turned back to the telly and stopped his channel surfing, only to find himself watching an "anime". "Steamboy©", he thought the movie was called. Of course, it really didn't matter in the end; he just wanted something to take his mind off of the past.

He was just getting into the alternate history storyline when he felt something prick his mind. Concentrating on it, he found a dark and extremely powerful presence making its way toward him. He looked over at his teacher, who had taught him the technique for sensing the aura of another dark being as part of his training, and found him looking in the direction of the aura, tensed and ready to strike, though it was more reflex then anything since he was a ghost now, and so couldn't really touch anything.

Suddenly, the door was blasted down and the two were surrounded by two dozen soldiers within seconds, the laser guides of their fully automatic machine guns making little red dots all over Harry's face and chest. Seeing he had as much chance of fighting them off as a snowball's survival in hell, he raised his hands in surrender.

Somebody from just past the door gave a deep, menacing chuckle. "So the little pup knows how to pick his battles. It seems you've taught him well, Zylo."

Harry looked over at Zylo and found momentary confusion flicker past those ghostly eyes, followed by, of all things, a grin. "Dracula? Is that you?"

Harry blinked. Dracula? The hell…? He turned to the doorway once more just in time to see a tall figure just oozing with darkness and near-malevolence strut in. His aura was enough to make Harry's knees wobble in fear, though he schooled his features and locked his knees to hide it.

"It's Alucard now, you old dog. My name was reversed when my allegiance changed."

Zylo blinked in confusion. "…May I ask why?"

"Hellsing had a strange sense of humor… and he loved any type of symbolism. Strange man, that one, though wise beyond his years." There was moment of silence, broken when Alucard… Dracula… changed the subject. "So, how are you, old friend?"

"Dead and aiding the Named One, as you can see." Zylo said.

"Ah, I see. And I take it that this boy is him?"

"Yes. Why else would I have contacted you?"

"Good point." Then the figure turned to Harry, took off his hat, and bowed to him. "Greetings, Named One. I am Alucard, servant of Sir Hellsing of the Hellsing Agency. I believe I have something for you," the man said. He then took out a bundle Harry hadn't noticed earlier. It was wrapped in a linen shroud and was at least seven feet long- which begs the question: how the hell didn't he notice it sooner?!?- with an aura of darkness like that of the Caput Mortuum. Alucard quickly unwound the linens, and Harry gasped; inside was the great spear from his dreams!

Alucard held out the weapon. "I believe this is yours?"

Harry, under no power of his own, reached out and grabbed it.

OoOoOoO

Selene and Michael had just had a romantic evening together, the first in almost two months. They had taken a walk down the Thames in the moonlight, and then attended a concert. Unfortunately, a romantic dinner was out of the question, but that really couldn't be helped, now could it?

They were returning to the hotel, ready to end the night in a most… enjoyable way, when they saw, to their horror, that Harry's room door had been knocked down. They ran the remaining distance to the room, Selene drawing her weapon and Michael starting his transformation. They froze, though, when they saw what awaited them.

Inside they found a tall vampire sitting on one of the chairs, sipping at a champagne flute of blood, his hair long and stringy, his frame almost cartoonishly skinny, and an aristocratic air about him that only Elder vampires could pull off. But that last part couldn't be right though; the three Elder vampires were dead… weren't they?

The vampire, who had been sitting by one of the beds in the room, turned to look at them, and Selene felt an almost overwhelming fear wash through her. As it was, she could barely stand, and a quick look to the side confirmed that Michael was in the same predicament.

"Well, hello there, guardians of the Named One. Please, have a seat." The stranger purred, waving an arm at the two other chairs in the room. She felt an overwhelming urge to do as requested, and, though she put a brief fight, found that whatever he was using to persuade her was strong enough to overcome even her trained vampire body. The rather ridiculous thought of asking for some of whatever it was after this was over crossed her mind for a moment, but it was immediately banished by a slightly panicking mind.

"AB-positive?" the stranger asked when they were both seated, holding out two more champagne glasses filled with the red liquid. She accepted hers jerkily, and a glance to the side showed that Michael has reverted to normal and also had a glass in his hands.

Once they had their glasses in hand, the stranger resettled himself in his seat, somehow making it look like a throne in the process. "Now, children, I have no doubt that you two are vampires, but both of you feel… different. Different in a way I have never felt before. Tell me, why is that?"

Nothing had changed in his voice, but Selene was suddenly far more scared then she had ever been in the last six hundred years. Another look sideways showed her that Michael was also scared shitless. Seeing her boyfriend probably wasn't going to be much help (she had experience to buffer the fear she was feeling; Michael was all of twenty-six years old), she mustered what little was left of her courage and tried to explain… tried being the key term. "M-Michael- the man next to me- is a v-vampire-werewolf hybrid, while I-I m-myself drank from the b-blood of Alex-xander Corvin-nis, which m-makes me a Dayw-walker…" If she wasn't so scared at the moment, she would have kicked herself for stuttering; she hadn't stuttered since she was five and in trouble with her father for breaking her mother's most treasured vase!

The stranger smirked. "Ah… well, that explains quite a bit." He didn't offer any more information.

"S-Sir? May I a-ask just w-who you a-are, ex-xactly?" Selene asked.

The stranger paused, as if startled (startled for a vampire, that is; anyone under two hundred would have never been able to tell), before turning his smirk into a genuine grin. "My dear, I think that was the fastest anyone has fought off my thrall! Most impressive, girl! Bravo!" He raised his glass in salute to her.

Selene felt as if she should have been proud, though she had no idea why; it was obvious this vampire was completely crazy, since the idea of the vampiric thrall was just another myth they let exist to scare the regular people.

"Now, as to your question: you have undoubtedly heard of me before… both of you, actually; I am still rather popular in pop culture, it seems. I currently go by the name Alucard. I used to be called… Dracula."

Now she knew the man was definitely mad, aura be damned! He was claiming to be a fictional vampire, for goodness' sake!!

"Dracula?!? You've gotta be KIDDING me!!!" Michael exclaimed, fear seemingly gone. He was unknowingly echoing his girlfriend's thoughts.

The man, supposedly Dracula… Alucard… whatever, raised an eyebrow. "I assure you, hybrid, I am not kidding."

"You're claiming to be a fictional vampire," Michael pointed out.

"I assure you, there is nothing fictional about me." Selene, who had been pushing the fear from her mind little by little, was suddenly floored by a fresh wave of terror. Michael felt the same, as evident by the barely audible whimper he made.

Then, as suddenly as the terror came, it left. The two were both left in shock as their mind tried to adjust to the sudden absence. The stranger smirked at their obvious bewilderment before completely changing the topic. "I am quite impressed with you, hybrid," he said to Michael, "You were not only able to resist my compulsions, but used your surprise to throw it off completely. I don't think I've EVER seen that done before. Once again, most impressive." He finished his glass of blood and filled it once more before continuing. "Now, I'm sure you have many questions- some of which probably have something to do with my authenticity-" he gave a _look_ that sent a jolt of fear through them, "-And, because I'm feeling generous, they will all be answered as of right now, while we wait upon the Named One's awakening."

This reminded them of the original reason of why they had rushed into the room in the first place, and they- meaning just Selene, since Michael wasn't really sure what questions to ask- immediately started the interrogation.

…Which wasn't producing any results, much to their frustration. Frustration changed to shock, though, when, several minutes into their conversation (or interrogation, whichever floats your boat), the stranger had complained about a breeze and, as if obeying his command, the knocked-down door raised itself and was once again blocking the doorway, the only thing out of place its broken hinges.

Selene and Michael's jaws dropped in disbelieve at the spectacle; suddenly, those answers they'd been getting didn't seem so ridiculous anymore.

OoOoOoO

"_Lucifer."_

"_What is it, Azrael?"_

"_I'm leaving the rebellion."_

"_What?! You can't do that!"_

"_Yes I can, and I will. It's a lost cause, and I now know how stupid I was to even listen to you. I'm leaving, and though I may never be forgiven, I'm still going to try."_

"_Why would you do that, brother? Why would you go back to being a slave?"_

"_I'm not going back to being a slave, Lucifer. I'm going back to be a servant of the Almighty."_

"_And if He doesn't accept you back?"_

_A pause of indecision, then: "Then I'll freelance for them. I made a mistake when I joined you, and I intend to fix it." _

_One last glance, then a wave of farewell. "Good bye, Lucifer. I doubt we'll see each other again,"_

_Fade to black._

A/N: Oh dear Lord… I practically rewrote half of this chapter, and am now probably going to have to rewrite a good chunk of the story. Damn it…

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	9. Chapter 8: Alucard

A/N: To those that have been under the impression that something unfortunate has happened to me: I've been on vacation. In the Alaskan cities of Sitka, Juneau, and Skagway and the Canadian city of Victoria, to be precise. To those of my readers that are native to those places I mentioned, you guys have beautiful cities. You have no idea how jealous I am. ((ToT))

I wish to take this time to address two reviews I got…

**To Eden**: The chapters do get longer, I promise! The reason why these chapters were so short for the first arc is because this story was originally an English assignment that had to be done in the space of two weeks. Unfortunately for me, one of those weeks was spent in Las Vegas for a family vacation. Hence, very short chapters due to a very short work period. On the brighter side, after the first arc- which was all I had to turn in- I wasn't so pressed for time, so the chapters started becoming longer.

**To Gedpod**: The magic will start soon, but it won't be MAGIC magic. Think _Golden Sun_ meets _Final Fantasy_ and _Chrono Trigger_, with a dash of _Slayers_ for good measure. What can I say? I find J.K. Rowling's idea of magic rather… limited.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Underworld: Evolution, Hellsing, Dungeons and Dragons, Zylo, and Bram Stoker's _Dracula_. I wish I did, though, because then I would be uber rich… not that I would know what to buy with my money. Everything I could buy with money I could live without, and things that I want cannot be bought with money. Sigh.

Chapter 8: Alucard

Harry woke up in bed… which was strange, since he couldn't remember how he got into bed in the first place.

'Why am I here?' He unnecessarily wondered. He remembered watching some cartoon with Zylo, then soldiers kicking down the door and barging in… an obviously barmy stranger claiming to be Dracula… him touching Thanifex, and having that strange vision… just like when he touched Caput Mortuum, come to think of it.

'Hmm… it seems touching one of the weapons from my dream knocks me out and brings me a vision. Better make a note of that…' He concluded. Mystery solved (in his mind, at least), Harry got out of bed and took in the situation: Selene, Michael, and the other vampire were conversing, while Zylo was nowhere to be seen. Actually, it was just Selene and Alucard, with Michael looking completely lost, the poor man.

Alucard, the first to notice he was awake, turned to him and grinned- a little less malevolently, Harry noticed. "Good to see you're awake, Named One. I was starting to worry."

Harry wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he muttered a half-apologetic "Umm… sorry?" before he grabbed a seat next to Selene. "So, what's up?" he asked.

"I was just telling your guardian the finer points of vampire history. It seems her particular… community has been isolated from the rest of us. How that was achieved, I don't know."

Harry blinked, his head beginning to spin just a bit. "Isolated? History? What?" The spinning in his head was shaken out before he tried again. "Okay, I think I missed quite a bit. Explanation, please… or is this confidential?"

He was expecting Selene to give him a straight answer, whether yes, it was a secret, or no, followed by an explanation. What he didn't expect was Selene to look to Alucard first, as if asking for permission. He could only stare in shock as the taller vampire smirked and nodded.

"Well," she began, "It seems that we- meaning me and the vampires that resulted from Marcus Corvinus- weren't the only vampires in the world. Actually, we're the minority when it comes to the vampire community, with the majority, though not physically distinguishable from us, differing to us in several key points."

Alucard picked up the explanation from this point, "Vampires- the majority- are all descended from one person: Cain. Do you know who Cain is, Named One?"

Harry racked his brain; the name was so familiar; he'd heard it before, somewhere… like from church… "As in, Cain, son of Adam? Guy who killed his brother because God liked Abel's sacrifice better?"

Alucard gave him an approving smile. "Excellent, Named One-"

"Harry," Harry corrected.

Alucard raised one slim eyebrow in question.

"The whole 'Named One' thing is, though curious, ultimately annoying. So, please, Harry would be fine." It came out a whole lot more dignified then he usually was, and he was barely able to hide his surprise at himself.

"Hmm… I have just realized that, while I was conversing with your guardians all this time, I've only gotten the name of the Hybrid."

Harry blinked; he was kidding, right? But then, he guessed even vampires would go senile with old age, so he let it go for the moment and do the introductions. "Well, I'm Harry Potter, and she's Selene… well, we just say Corvin when people ask, because it's easier to disguise ourselves as a homeless young married couple and dependent little brother then anything else, really," he said with a shrug. "She's forgotten her real last name, since it's been six hundred years and all."

"Ah yes, she told me about the little bit of trouble you've been having with the Lycans and other vampires. Personally, I'm impressed; though they're different, your Elders were still powerful in their own way."

"Um…? Can we get back on track? I actually want to hear this a second time, since I don't think I got it completely the first time around," Michael interrupted, reminding both of them of their original conversation.

Alucard cleared his throat. "Right, yes, well… when God passed his verdict on Cain- that he was to wander the earth forevermore- Cain begged God for mercy, afraid that he may be murdered himself. In answer, God gave him a mark, one that would keep men away, and return the favor sevenfold to those who would hurt him.

"He wandered for centuries, and those that would seek to harm him were, true to word, returned the favor sevenfold… only it wasn't in a way he, or anybody else, expected. Those that attacked weren't hurt initially, but over time they would change: their eyes turned red, their skin turned pale, our incisors grew to grotesque proportions, they developed a taste for human blood, they burned easily, they developed severe allergic reactions to silver, garlic, onions, and other onion-related products… within a week, those that were not smart enough to recognize the pattern burned to death in the sun, and those smart enough became dwellers in the night.

"This change was the original curse of vampirism.

"I myself was one of these unfortunates that attacked Cain- for me it was an attempt to… "mug" him, as the people of this time call it- three or four thousand years ago. I, like those mentioned before, was smart enough to stay out of the sun. But I, unlike my more intelligent brethren, also decided to stop draining my victims completely, as opposed to the previous feedings of vampires. At first, it was an attempt to preserve a more permanent food source, but I eventually discovered something: the curse could be spread to others.

"…At least, it spread to the virgin girls that I was able to obtain; after two or three feedings, they always assumed all vampiric characteristics, as if they themselves attacked Cain. Non-virgins and men only obtained a taste for human blood- which would quickly evolve into a taste for raw flesh of any kind- elongated teeth, and an aversion to sunlight and silver. But, strangely enough, they would also almost immediately start decaying, both their physical bodies, as well as their intellect, until they were nothing but walking corpses, under the power of the vampire that bit them. They eventually became known as ghouls.

"Upon discovering this, I immediately started thinking of the possibilities, which were great: an army of ghouls, commanded by beautiful and deadly lieutenants that could double as bedmates- I was rather… obsessed with carnal desires, I am ashamed to admit- which in turn would be commanded by me? It was every man's dream come true, and I started working on it right away.

"Of course, I wasn't as wise as I am now, so I met obstacles almost immediately from the start: though the ghouls were easy enough, I seemed to have the misfortune to continuously turn virgins that were either strong-willed, highly religious, or just plain spoiled. Not to mention, I was dismayed to learn that that army of ghouls I wanted was actually quite temporary, since the decaying didn't stop.

"In the end, I sired no less then one hundred fledgling vampires, of which only three were loyal to me; the other ninety-seven either went their own way, got killed as soon as they were on their own, or, after much contemplation, committed suicide.

"It wasn't until later that I learned- from those of my get that kept in touch with me- that for female vampires it was a full transformation with virgin men, and a ghoul for everything else.

"Several centuries passed. My three 'brides', as Mr. Stoker would call them, and I eventually learned- through trial and error- the more subtle methods of gathering power. I was just integrating myself into the courts of Walachia when I learned through my spies placed in nearby Hungary that there had been a disturbance amongst the nobles there… in particular, one Alexander Corvinus. His sons had been attacked by what they were calling a _vampir_- the forerunner of the modern day word 'vampire', obviously.

"I sent one of my 'wives' to investigate, because, since I was the only vampire smart enough to realize our… contagiousness, this vampire could only be one of my get, which made it my business if what she did was able to raise such a ruckus.

"When she returned, it was with a strange tale: the vampire, recognized as one of my earlier get, had partnered with a _farkasember_- a werewolf, a species that was almost as old as vampires, but whose origins were lost to time even then- and attacked two of the three sons of Corvinus. The one my get had bitten turned into a vampire, but it was a vampire I had never heard of before. It was still weak against sunlight, yes, but not much else, and even then it held a higher endurance to it then previous vampires. Also, though they had the elongated fangs of all vampires, their eyes remained whatever color it was previous to the bite. The other brother was bitten by the werewolf. The third escaped only because of my 'bride' had gotten to them before THEY could get to HIM.

"I only learned much later that is was something in the Corvinus blood that had allowed them such mutations. It would later be called the Corvinus Strain."

Through his whole monologue, Alucard had drained another two glasses of blood, and was almost done with his fourth. He took another sip and eyed the Harry over the rim. "The rest you can find in your average history book and Mr. Stoker's novel. Any questions, Harry?" he asked.

Harry, who had sat there quietly and absorbed as much as he could actually did have a question: "Just how DID Bram Stoker get the idea for _Dracula_?"

"He used to work for my current employer… well, grandfather of my current employer, but that's beside the point. When he retired, he went into writing, and after several mediocre works, decided to use the story of my defeat at the hands of Abraham Hellsing. It, obviously, worked. Luckily for us, since it wasn't his story to begin with, he was forced by the Queen's laws to owe me and all involved part of the profits that came from the story." He smirked fondly at the memory.

Warm, fuzzy moment over, Alucard leaned back in his chair and said, "Now that that is over with, let's get on to-"

"Hold it," Michael interrupted, drawing a glare from the older vampire. He shuddered under the look for a moment, but soon visibly collected himself and pushed on, to which both Selene and Alucard gave an impressed look. "I've been following the conversation up to this point, and something's been nagging me. It took me a while, but I finally figured it out; I've read _Dracula_, and let me tell you: if you are who you claim to be, you are either being extremely out of character, or there's something you want. Which is it?"

One could literally see the respect Alucard had for Michael grow. "Very insightful, Mr. Corvin," he said, "and you are right. The reason I am telling you all this is because I've been ordered by my employer to extend an invitation to the Named One and his guardians- if he had any- to join us at Hellsing Agency Headquarters. There he will receive a safe haven from those who would seek to do him harm, in return for… services that only he can do."

"But… I can't do anything," Harry told tall vampire, "I can use a gun, sure, but anybody can, and my magical education- you do know about magic, don't you?- only spans the first two years of my school. And even if I knew more, I wouldn't be able to do any of it because I don't have my wand anymore."

Alucard just smirked. "Magic? No, my dear Harry, what you have is more then mere magic… though you may have that aspect of your person trained, as well, if you and your guardians were to come with me. Hellsing Agency, though a… muggle- as you wizarding types call it- organization, we are not without our… connections."

Harry looked over to Selene, Michael, and a now-paying-attention Zylo. Protection from the Lycan and Vampire empires (though, if Alucard's story was true, they might just be demoted from "empire" to "community" soon), and some training for his magic? This was almost too good to be true… actually…

"This is too good to be true. It has to be a trap." Michael said, giving Alucard a flat glare.

Harry was expecting Alucard to defend his proposition. Instead, much to his surprise, it was Zylo who spoke next: "I would listen to him, if I were you three," the ghost suggested almost nonchalantly, "If this were a trap, you three wouldn't even be questioning his motives… nor would he have had to bust in the door with his band of merry men, come to think of it." He then turned to the tall vampire and asked, "By the way, where ARE your soldiers?"

"Around," was the enigmatic answer, before turning back to Harry. "So, meet me at the airstrip in two hours. It's about ten minutes outside of the city, to the east. Ciao!"

Alucard was out of his seat and out the door before any of them could even register that they'd just had their choice in the matter taken out of their hands.

Seconds ticked by before Selene sighed and headed for the room she shared with Michael. "Well, we might as well get packing. I don't know about you guys, but something tells me I seriously don't want to piss that man off, so if he's expecting us to be there, I'm going to be there."

Harry was pretty sure he would have Michael and Zylo's agreement if he said he really didn't want to piss off Alucard, too.

A/N: It… hurts… I had to rewrite this one almost from scratch, because it just didn't fit anymore. Took me a month, and it was not fun… well, maybe it was a little fun. Just a bit. Next chapter might not be coming in quite a while, so don't hold your breath.

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	10. Chapter 9: Hellsing Agency

A/N: And here's chapter 9. I forgot to mention this before, but this fic is between volumes one and two of _Hellsing_ and will eventually be somewhere in the middle of volume eleven of _Love Hina_, when Keitaro is studying abroad in America. With that said, don't be too surprised to see Walter still walking around Hellsing HQ's halls… oh, and I haven't forgotten about our oh-so-loved wannabe Nazi's; they'll get theirs, I promise.

Chapter 9: Hellsing Agency

They arrived at Hellsing Agency Headquarters by helicopter some time later. Harry was surprised to see that the place- which, according to Alucard's briefing, was kept secret from the public- was positively huge! How they managed to keep it a secret without resulting to magic was a mystery to Harry. Or maybe there was…? He made a mental note to ask Alucard later.

As soon as the helicopter landed, Alucard jumped off and shouted over the powering down engines, "We must meet Sir Hellsing first. Follow me!"

"But what about our stuff?" Michael shouted back.

"Leave it! We have servants for that!" Alucard responded before walking toward the main building. Michael and Harry looked to Selene, who just shrugged and hopped off. They followed suit, though not before Harry grabbed the Caput Mortuum and the Thanifex from their places beside him.

Inside, they walked through hall after twisting hall before they arrived at a large set of double doors. Without even breaking his stride Alucard shoved the doors open and walked in. The group followed, and was greeted by the sight of an almost-spartan office. Seated at the desk in front of them was- Harry was slightly surprised to see- a blonde woman that, Harry noticed, would have been pretty if she wasn't so… he wasn't really sure what the word for it was, or if there even was a word, but it made the woman standing before him seem less attractive then she really was.

As soon as they walked in the blonde woman stood up and bowed to them. "I am Sir Hellsing. Welcome to Hellsing Agency," she said, "I take it that one of you must be the Named One?"

"Umm… yeah, ma'am… err… sir. That'll be me… I think," Harry stumbled as he raised an unsure hand. Just what was he supposed to address her as?

"I see. And what is your name, Named One?"

"Harry, ma'am, err, I mean, sir. Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter? Hmm… sounds familiar. Have we met?"

At those words Harry's blood ran cold, and he was barely able to squeak out a "No, ma'am". Was it possible she was a witch?

"Oh? Strange… I could have sworn I've heard of you somewhere…" She seemed to spend a few more seconds trying to remember, then shrugged and gave it up. Harry mentally sighed in relief. "So, who are your companions?" she asked.

"I'm Michael Corvin, doctor."

"I'm Selene, formerly of the Death Dealers."

"And I'm Zylo, last of the Wolf Barons."

Zylo's ghostly form had appeared from the Caput Mortuum. The only sign of Integra's surprise was a startled blink. "Hmm… Selene, did you say you were formerly of the Death Dealers?"

Selene nodded. "Yes, Sir Hellsing."

"Death Dealer, you say? Interesting. Tell me, are you from Hungary?"

"Yes, Sir Hellsing," Selene said, blinking in confusion; where was THIS going?

"I see. You are from the Lost Coven, aren't you?"

"The Lost… what?"

Sir Hellsing gave a small smirk… or was it a smile? It was hard to tell. "My apologies. It is what I have dubbed your particular breed of vampires. You would not be familiar with it," she said, "Our organization has been keeping track of your people for years now, in off chance that Macaro (Harry remembered Selene telling him that this was the name Alexander Corvin had adopted for himself in this day and age) and his Cleaners finally couldn't contain the situation. But I've heard that it's a moot point now, since all three elders are dead. Do you, by any chance, know anything about that?"

"Err…" Selene cast her eyes down.

Harry stared. Was Selene getting flustered?

Integra chuckled. "Be not afraid, Miss Selene; I already know what happened. By the way, I'll like to thank you: though their main quarters were in another country, and their numbers small, they were beginning to get on our nerves… though Amelia did try her best to work with us. A good ally, she was; the power that came with her position hadn't dulled her sense of morals one bit. Well," Integra stood up and bowed, "I'm quite sorry for having to dismiss you like this, but I still have a lot of paperwork. Besides, I think Alucard wants to show all of you around our headquarters."

They each gave an uncertain bow back, before leaving with Alucard in the lead.

That day Alucard took them over all of the above ground part of the building, showing them how various departments worked and what they did. All of them were impressed, especially Selene and Zylo: Selene because everything was run with such efficiency, and Zylo because it was more technology he had missed out during his stay in the cave. When asked why they didn't go down to the basement, Alucard told them there wasn't really anything down there, since it was used mainly for the storage of munitions and other supplies.

During the tour they met Seras Victoria, a.k.a. "Police Girl", Alucard's most recent get, and Walter, Sir Hellsing's… well, they weren't really sure what his job was (Alucard wouldn't say), but it seemed to be a cross between butler and bodyguard, since he was a former M16 agent. Harry was quite surprised to find that Seras Victoria, despite her diminutive size, fought primarily with a gigantic Vulcan Cannon that was almost two times her size, while Walter, as strange as it sounded, used string. He had actually laughed at the last one, thinking it was a joke, before Walter had neatly flicked his wrist and a nearby piece of wall came loose. He'd shut up after that.

The tour ended with Alucard leading them to their rooms, where he told Harry to be ready, because he was going to be driven into the ground tomorrow. With a final "good morning" (since they had arrived at sunset and the tour had lasted through midnight), he left them to look over the rooms for themselves. Harry did just that, and his jaw dropped when he saw his room. It was HUGE, with a bathroom and walk-in closet attached. Everything- the walls, the ceiling, the carpet, the four-poster bed, etc. - was done in black and emerald green. Suffice to say, he felt he could get used to it.

The next day, Harry was put through the most grueling workout session ever, which was saying something, since he'd been through Seeker training, self-defense with a former Death Dealer, and his training with Zylo. Alucard and Zylo had decided they were both going to train him at the same time, and so made him sprint miles, do hundreds of push-ups, and thousands of sit-ups, followed by lots and lots of weight lifting. The day after that, though, they had told him to meditate for the whole day, and would smack him up-side the head every time he so much as twitched. Thinking this was part of the training, he didn't complain. It turned out to be a good thing because, as he would learn the day after, they had been testing his strength, endurance, patience, and obedience. Harry was glad to hear that he had passed their tests with flying colors.

From there on out, Alucard taught Harry how to find his Dark Core and, when he found it, use it to augment his own strength, speed, and skill until it was almost second nature to him. After he had become relatively used to it, he was taught basic 'spells' that utilized his Dark Core.

That particular set of lessons had been an eye opener for Harry; according to Alucard, what the wizards and witches called 'magic' was really just another way to invoke the Psynergetic potential- the ability to draw upon the ambient energies that made up the universe- within a person.

With magic, the energy was more controlled, and so could be used for a wider variety of tasks. The downside to this, though, was that the spells that resulted from this particular branch of Psynergy wielding were relatively weak.

The other branch, simply called Alchemy (not to be confused with wizarding alchemy, which is all that's left of the former after years and years of shortcuts and misconceptions), was more wild. Though those that practiced it would eventually lean heavily upon one particular element (with the exception of Dark and Light wielders; they had relatively good control of the four basic elements [Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water along with their own), the spells they cast were many, many times more powerful then anything magic could possibly hope to achieve.

Also around this time, Zylo had started training him in some of the more advanced techniques of the Wolf Barons, those that required Dark Psynergy to use. He also started teaching him how to control his transformations, a skill that, though pretty much useless in itself, helped him practice controlling his Dark Psynergy even more.

It was during the first transformation session that Harry had learned he now had four magnificent feathered wings, where as he had none the last time he had transformed (his previous training hadn't required him to be in his hybrid form). When he had asked Zylo, and later Alucard, if they knew how he grew wings practically overnight, they just gave him a secretive smile and said they had no idea. He was then promptly smacked for his less-then-polite reply.

It had been two months since Harry, Selene (who had been asked to train some of the new recruits, since she certainly had the experience), and Michael (who had started working as a doctor) had come into Integra's, Alucard's, and the rest of the Hellsing Agency's lives, and they were all becoming better for it. Despite being undead (kinda; just what do you call a mutant vampire capable of bearing a child? Or werewolf capable of siring one, for that matter?), the "family", as Alucard had dubbed them, had made friends within the ranks quickly.

Integra especially had grown fond of Harry, seeing a kindred spirit in the young hybrid. Like her, he had had a life much tougher then any child should have to bear and, also like her, had taken it all in stride. He was smart (a literal genius, according to Alucard) and took everything in stride, throwing himself into all of his training with a zeal she once had. He was almost like a male version of her younger self in that respect, right down to the forced maturity being an orphan brought. Of course, since he hadn't been forced to run a very important department of the Protestant Church and all that, he still retained his kind-hearted nature and compassion, as opposed to her own (usually) cold and business-like demeanor. Sometimes she would find herself wondering if it really was the responsibility of being the last Hellsing that had made her the person she was today, if maybe she could have dealt with the pressure in a different way. The results were always the same, though: she would get a headache and drop the issue, telling herself that the past was the past, and she wouldn't be able to change it. Still, she was quick to take Harry underneath her wing; just because she couldn't change her life, it didn't mean she was going to let another's go down her path.

Currently she was reading reports from her contacts and sipping a cup of coffee. She skimmed through the pages of a report that had just recently come in from Liverpool and tossed it aside before grabbing another one, this time from a informant in Scotland, deep within what she deemed "enemy territory", since the Catholic church had jurisdiction there. When she opened it, she nearly choked on the sip of coffee she had taken: on the newspaper clipping that was stapled into the folder was the name "Harry Potter".

A/N: I know Integra is a bit OOC (Alucard, too, I think), but I needed a big sister figure for Harry. He's going to get the family he always wanted, even if they're not related by blood (well, Michael is, but who's counting?).

Please Review!!


	11. Chapter 10: Familiar Faces

A/N: I'm sorry. Really, I am. I just had to put these four in here because no Independent!Harry fic is complete without some kind of cameo from these guys! Sigh... at least I updated early this time...

Disclaimer: I do not own _Hellsing_, _Underworld, _or_ Harry Potter_. Damn Nazis…

Chapter 10: Familiar Faces

At first she didn't believe it was the Harry Potter she knew, and this was just a big coincidence, but then she looked at the attached picture, and knew it to be true. Sure, he didn't have that scar anymore, and his face was a bit fuller, but besides those minor details, it was Harry through and through.

She checked the date and found that it was almost two years old, and had probably gotten into her pile by mistake. She read it through anyways, though, because she knew next to nothing about Harry besides the fact that he had been abused by his guardians and left for dead before Selene and Michael found him.

What she found amazed and disgusted her. Apparently, the boy had been no stranger to the supernatural before he met his current guardians; hell, he was actually supposed to be the savior of the so-called Magical World, a society she was well aware of and had contacts within. The file had been from one of said contacts, and had been about Harry's disappearance. According to the file, when he disappeared, the magical authorities only spent three days looking for him, using only minimal resources, before declaring him dead. Several days later, they had declared him a fake, and that the real Boy-Who-Lived- as he had been called- was a boy named Neville Longbottom. Most shocking of all was the fact that Harry's biggest supporter, Albus Dumbledore, had supported the outrageous claims, citing Harry's ignorance of the wizarding world as evidence. They had basically dumped him as soon as he became too much of a bother!

After reading the file, Integra had sudden urge to petition to Parliament and, if she had to, the Queen of England, to storm the wizarding world, disband their Ministry of Magic, and put the magical community of Britain under good-old, iron-fisted, British rule for a couple centuries to teach them a lesson (preferably under the Agency's authority; they could whip these spineless bastards into shape in no time!); to hell with this Wizen-whatchamacallit crap! How could they pile up all these expectations and responsibilities on a little boy, then drop him when it was no longer convenient? That was just… disgusting!

'I wonder if Harry knows about this,' she thought. Well, if she told him, and he didn't know, at least he knew now, and if he already knew, then there really was no harm done… hopefully. Not to mention that if he was a half-trained wizard, he needed to be taught the rest of his lessons before he lost control of his powers. Good thing she had just the people for that…

With that thought, she picked up the phone that was always keyed into a receiver Alucard always had on his trench coat collar. "Alucard?"

"Yes, Integra?"

"Is Harry with you?"

"Of course. He's currently practicing his flying."

"…Flying?" Integra blinked; that was news to her.

"Yes. I take it you haven't seen his new form? It's really quite magnificent."

"He has a new form?" Yes, definitely news to her.

"Yes, but I think you didn't call me for that. What do you want with Harry?"

"I've just recently uncovered some… disturbing information on him. Can you bring him to my office?"

"…Disturbing information? Is he a danger to Hellsing?"

"No, nothing like that! It's… well, just bring him here."

"Alright then. We'll be right there."

Integra thanked the vampire and hung up. She sighed and sipped at her now lukewarm coffee. 'How am I going to tell him…?' she wondered.

Fifteen minutes later, Alucard entered her office… alone.

"Alucard, where's Harry?" She asked.

In response, Alucard pointed to the window behind her. She turned around, and nearly jumped back in shock; there, hovering in the air, four massive black wings flapping alternately, was Harry in his human form. He grinned and waved, then gestured for her to unlock her window. She hurried to do just that, the whole time cursing Alucard's sense of humor; surely he had put Harry up to this!

When Harry was inside and the window was closed again, Integra asked, "Harry, how…?"

"Zylo has been teaching me how to control my transformation to a greater degree than just changing whenever I want," Harry responded with a shrug.

"Ah. Well, if you don't mind me saying so, you look incredible with those wings of yours; like an archangel from God, as it were." Integra said.

"Thank you, Sir Hellsing."

"Ahem…?"

Sigh. "Integra."

"Better." Integra smiled; she'd been trying to get him to call her by her given name. Like Alucard, he hadn't immediately taken to it, but he was getting it faster then her vampiric familiar had.

Alucard cleared his throat. "Integra, why did you call us up here?" he asked.

Integra's smile dropped, and in a grave look she held out her file to Alucard, who skimmed it and handed it back to her. "Harry," she began, "did you ever find out what happened in the wizarding world after your 'disappearance'?"

Harry's eyes, which had been positively shining with life, went dead with a speed that, quite frankly, scared her a bit; no child should be able to do that. Integra knew her answer before Harry even spoke. "Yeah, I found out a few weeks after I joined up with Selene and Michael," he growled.

"And… how have you been coping?" she asked rather lamely; she hadn't really planned on him already knowing.

"It's been more then two years, Si-… Integra. Right now, I just don't like them very much."

Integra nodded in understanding; she really didn't like them right now, too, though she never really did like them in the first place, with their high and mighty attitude and all.

"If I may ask, Sir… err.. I mean, Integra, how do you know of the magical world?" Harry asked.

"I have my sources, but that's not important right now. What's important is that you quit that wizard school Hogwarts while you still needed training to control your growing powers. Now, I'm not saying I'm sending you back to the school," she quickly said when she saw the look of pure loathing and horror he had on his face, "but you do need to continue your training. Luckily, I have some superb teachers right here. Alucard," She turned to the vampire, "how is his training going?"

"Pretty much done, Integra. All he needs now is to hone his skills. Are you going to do what I think you're going to do?"

"Wake them up? Yes."

"They told me to wake them in two thousand years, you know. It's only been half that time."

"Yes, well, I'm sure they're getting bored, not to mention I have a feeling they're going to like this."

Harry, who had been following the conversation back and forth like a tennis match, finally spoke up. "Wait! Who's 'they'?"

Alucard just grinned at him in that rather scary manner of his. "You'll see, kid, you'll see. Right then, c'mon!" Alucard turned around and walked out of the office, his trench coat billowing in such a dramatic way that Harry was convinced it was on purpose.

He turned to Integra, who shooed him out of her office, but not before saying, "And yes, he does that on purpose." Harry blinked, and followed Alucard out the door, leaving Integra alone in her office once more.

'I hope they're not too mad…' she thought before returning to her files.

Alucard led Harry through headquarters and straight to the stairs leading to the basement. Harry faltered. "Umm… Alucard? I thought the basements were used for storage."

Alucard stopped and grinned at Harry. "They are. The people we want are currently in a type of ancient cryonic sleep, and so were stored here to wait for the year A.D. 3000. Of course, that was before you arrived, so their nap is going to have to be cut a bit short."

"Err… I don't want to be of any trouble to anyone, Alucard."

"You won't be, kid. It was about time they got off their fat asses anyway. Now c'mon." Alucard turned around and started down the stairs, Harry in tow.

Fifteen minutes of twisting and turning corridors later, they came upon an old, iron-wrought door. Alucard laid a hand on the center of the door, and the whole thing sank into the ground. They entered and Harry's mouth fell open in surprise. Inside the room were four stone caskets, with…

Harry's mind started reeling. On each of the caskets were stone statues of some familiar mascots… more specifically, a lion, a raven, a badger, and a snake. "It... can't be…" Harry muttered.

Alucard chuckled at seeing Harry's face. "You guess who they are yet?" he asked. Without waiting for a reply, he went to a stone altar in the middle of the room and laid both of his hands on it. It started glowing, and a hiss of escaping air came from the four caskets.

"Now we wait for them to wake up," Alucard said cheerfully. Harry could only nod dumbly as the caskets started glowing a light blue.

Ten minutes of suspenseful waiting later, the casket tops opened and steam billowed out. The first to sit up was a girl that didn't look more then eighteen. She had long, dark blue hair… and was as naked as the day she was born. Harry quickly turned his eyes away, his face as red as a tomato.

She rubbed tiredly at her eyes and yawned. "Argh… has it been two thousand years already?" she asked sleepily.

"I don't know, but we are most definitely not where we were before," said a red-haired young man who had to be about the same age as the bluette. He was the second to sit up, and Harry made a mental note never to get into a fist fight with him; he had broad, defined shoulders, pointing at great physical strength.

"Hmm… guess Vlad forgot about us…" a blond girl, same age, and just as naked as the first, muttered. She was the third to sit up.

"If he did, we wouldn't be awake right now, love," a young man with long, black hair growled. He was the last to get up, and was about the same age as the other three. Harry noticed that though he was skinny, he was in no way scrawny, and instead gave off the aura of somebody not to be messed with.

Alucard chose the moment to speak up. "Good to see the spell worked. Godric, Rowena, Sal, Helga… glad to have you back." He nodded to each in turn.

"Wha…? Dracula? You're still alive?" the blond girl, Helga, mumbled sleepily.

"Well, technically, no. After all, I'm undead."

"Of course, silly me." Helga gave a light laugh, yawned and stretched, causing Harry to gulp and cover his eyes. He was jealous to see that Alucard didn't even flinch; damn teenage hormones! Damn them and these uncomfortably tight pants!

"As much as I'm enjoying the show, I think you all might want to magic up some clothes before my friend here has an aneurysm." The vampire said, grinning. Harry made a mental note to damn his taller companion when the blood started rushing back to his brain.

"Huh? Wha- Eep!" Rowena, the bluette, quickly dove back into the casket, before emerging again in some positively ANCIENT robes. The other's, when they noticed their own states of undress, followed. Soon, there were four robed and ready people standing outside their caskets… well, almost standing, anyway; they more wobbled then stood.

"Harry, may I introduce to you Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin, the four founders of the wizarding school Hogwarts." Alucard said, sweeping his arms grandly towards the unsteady group.

The shock was too much for his already just-up-until-recently-oxygen-starved brain. Saying so, it was no surprise when Harry fainted at the announcement.

A/N: The Founders are back! And they're young and hot! I'm surprised nobody's tried this approach before... well... at least, I haven't run into anybody trying this approach before... anyway, More about them in the next chapter!

Review!


	12. Chapter 11: More Teachers!

A/N: In response to **The Don**: Alucard gives me the impression that he's not all that interested in nudity. Sex? Oh yeah, definitely, but not nudity. Also, the idea of cryogenics in regards to ancient magic users is partially ripped off from a VERY early story by **NamelessHeretic**, where Harry is first sent to Hell, then into the distant past, where he meets Merlin and gives him the idea of freezing himself so that he may have a chance of seeing the future. I can't for the life of me remember the name of the story, but it was a fun read (if not written all that well). Think of this as a tribute to that story, which has, unfortunately been taken off as of 9/27/07 (probably earlier, but I found out on that day).

Disclaimer: Maybe it's a good thing I don't own Harry Potter… I'm a big Harry/Harem fan, but I understand that most people who read the _Harry Potter_ books are not. I probably would have turned it into novelized porn or something…

Chapter 11: More Teachers?!? At Least They Can't Be THAT Bad…

Harry awoke to a conversation in Latin… which was pretty strange, because he wasn't aware of anybody who knew how to speak the dead language fluently. This needed further investigation, so he opened his eyes and saw that he was back in Integra's office, with Salazar, Godric, and Alucard having one conversation and Rowena, Helga, and Integra in another. The one with the men was in Latin, which meant that was the one that he had woken up to. Harry had almost no knowledge of Latin, but he was pretty sure he heard references to either power of some kind or divinity. The other conversation, the one with the girls, was in English, but it seemed they had some kind of muffling charm around them, because he couldn't make out what they were saying. He groaned and sat up. Everybody's attention was immediately on him.

"Hello, Harry, good to see that you're awake." Integra said with a smile.

Harry only peripherally registered the comment; he was far more interested in the four dead people she and Alucard had been chatting with earlier. "They… are supposed to be dead," he needlessly said. A beat later, he added, "And that one's evil," while pointing at Salazar. Godric sniggered while Salazar gave an exasperated sigh.

"For the last time, I. AM. NOT. EVIL!!! I just made an error in judgment! I developed the very concept of inter-material transfigurations, and I'm remembered for one comment about purebloods?!?" Salazar all but shouted. Godric's snigger turned into a full blown laugh. "Still your tongue, Gryffindor!"

Godric's laughter stopped, but he still sniggered. "Sorry, Sal, but you have to admit, in a way, it IS rather funny."

"Then you are easily amused."

"I am not! I just have a… broader range of interests!"

As the two started bickering, Rowena leaned over and stage whispered, "They're always like this. Sometimes I find myself wondering if they were married to each other rather then Helga and I!"

Harry couldn't help but grin as the two men stopped fighting and gawked at her in horror.

"Rowena, dear, you did not just tell our hopefully-future-student that," Godric muttered, his face in his hand.

Rowena just hummed an innocent little tune to herself.

"Dear Merlin, we have not even started yet and we have already lost his respect! Curse you, wench! Curse you!" Salazar ranted, snarling and waving his fist in an obvious attempt at effect.

"Careful, Sal; that is my wife you are cursing."

"So? She humiliated us. I think I am entitled to some cursing."

"I am just saying I should go first next time."

"Be careful of your words, husband. You have not had me for a thousand years; you are at my mercy," Rowena growled. Godric "eep"ed and cast his eyes down in defeat.

"Yes, love," He muttered.

"Good boy." Rowena smiled and patted his head.

Salazar laughed at his companion until Helga said in an overly sweet tone, "Sal, dear, the same applies to you, I hope you know." That shut him up.

Alucard just smirked, safe in the knowledge that he never married; who needed to when one had a harem of willing and beautiful women?

Harry just stared. THIS was Voldemort's great-to-the-nth-power grandfather? He was almost… normal! Hell, he was actually more pleasant then some people he knew! "Wow… you guys aren't what I imagined you to be like…" Harry said, the first time since his outburst.

"And what did you imagine us to be like, Harry?" Helga asked, curious.

"Well… I thought you'd all be older… and Salazar would be more monkey-ish, like the giant statues he has in his Chamber of Secrets. By the way, I killed your basilisk. Sorry." Harry said, deadpanning that last part.

"I think you're talking about my father; he was never a very handsome man, and I am forever thankful that I inherited my looks from my mother," Slytherin said, adding a contemptuous sniff for effect (once again, it was rather obvious; it didn't seem the founding father of the Cunning House had a subtle bone in his body) "And what basilisk? I never had a basilisk, though now that I think about it, I should have gotten one. Basilisk venom is so rare; it would have been convenient to have one I could just milk whenever Helga needed some for another potions experiment…"

"Oh, and this 'Chamber of Secrets' you were talking about? He made it one night when he came back to the castle totally sloshed and decided he wanted his own playroom. The statue was, as mentioned prior, of his father." Helga stage whispered to Harry.

"HELGA!!!"

Helga shrugged. "What? It is true, is it not?"

"But… but… you need not have told him that!"

Helga just whistled innocently, before she and Rowena broke down in laughter.

"Bloody mad, the lot of them are!" Harry could hear Salazar mutter.

"Right you are, my friend, right you are." Godric muttered back, nodding his head.

"Um… sirs? Ladies?" Harry tentatively said.

"Yes, Harry?" Godric asked.

"You still haven't told me why you're all so… alive. And young. And different looking from the few portraits I've seen of all of you."

"Portraits are rarely accurate, Harry, as opposed to… what was it again? The tofugraphy?"

"Photography, Godric." Alucard supplied.

"Right, that."

Harry wondered for a moment how it was that Godric has even known of photography, but decided to let it go for the sake of his sanity.

"As for why we are young- we are very much like the late Mr. Corvinus." Salazar said.

"Yes. Actually, he was related to us… distantly, anyway." Helga continued. She and Rowena had stopped laughing, though the occasional tear still needed wiping.

"At the time, we didn't know why we never aged, but in time- which means just recently, really- we discovered this was due to what you call the Corvinus Strain."

"Though ours is different; it's more pure, hence the fact that we all look… what? Seventeen? Eighteen?"

"Oh…" Suddenly overcome with a morbid curiosity, Harry couldn't help but ask, "Just… how old are all of you, anyway?"

"Before we went into cold sleep? About five hundred or so…" Rowena said in an off hand manner. Harry's jaw dropped.

"Wow… um… you look very good for your age…?"

Helga giggled and gave him a wink. "Why, thank you, Mr. Potter! How flattering of you!"

"Oy! That's my wife you're flirting with!" Slytherin said, obviously (he's a very obvious person, isn't he? Who would have thunk it; Slytherin himself had less subtlety then a rock?) peeved.

"She'd be making an upgrade, if you ask me," Godric commented. He earned a smack upside the head from Rowena for his troubles. "Ow!"

"Be nice, Godric."

"A-HEM!!" Alucard coughed, catching everybody's attention, "I think we had something a bit more important then your useless squabbling to attend to at the moment."

"Hmm? Oh yes." Godric said, then cleared his throat and said in a much more regal voice then he'd been using, "Harry James Potter, you are herby offered an apprenticeship with us, on this day of the twenty-second of March, of the year of our Lord, 2001. Do you accept?"

'Hmm, should I…?' Harry wondered to himself. After being thrown away by the wizarding world, he was understandably reluctant about this. But then, these particular wizards… they were the Founders, and if he couldn't trust them, who could he trust? Besides, something was telling him to take the offer, and he was never one to ignore his instincts. "I accept."

"Excellent, Harry! But that's going to have to wait until tomorrow, I'm afraid; tonight I have prior engagements with my husband and a big, soft bed that's going to get a workout. Excuse me…" And, before anybody knew what was happening, Helga has grabbed said husband by the arm and was hauling him out of the room. The remaining occupants were left blinking in bewilderment.

"Well… that was… sudden…" Integra said, breaking the silence.

"Not really; Helga is what you would call a nymphomaniac. She's also extremely loyal- hence her House's reputation- so she won't… release the pent up frustrations on anyone but Salazar, fortunately for him. Of course, it HAS been several centuries, so even the most prudish of us will be a little antsy," Rowena explained, as if reading from a textbook.

"Oh…" Harry mumbled, blushing beet red; that was a bit too much information, right there…

"Which reminds me…" Rowena continued, before grabbing her own husband by the collar of his robe and roughly pulling him in for a kiss. She then proceeded to drag the now dazed Godric from the room, leaving a highly mortified Harry and a slightly less mortified Integra.

"Yes… if I remember correctly, Rowena has the same… problem as her fellow wife…" Alucard chose that time to mention. Harry groaned and placed his head in his hands; oh yeah, that was DEFINITELY too much information. What in God's name had he gotten himself into?!?

OoOoO

The remaining months passed eventfully. Harry has gotten the training he needed, and then some; besides the basic course load from Hogwarts (which was practically smashed into the allotted time; it was amazing he was even able to follow it, frankly), he had been given a crash course (though still very thorough, however that was possible) on Legilimency, Occlumency, Enchantment (as in on a weapon to give it some extra "oomph"), Parseltongue, War Tactics, War Magics (these kicked ass, in Harry's humble opinion), and Protection Magic (of which healing spells were am off-shoot of), along with foreign language studies (he now knew how to say "Screw you!" in sixteen different languages, now), swordsmanship (this was in conjunction with Integra) and, perhaps his personal favorite, martial arts (he was still wondering where Godric had learned judo, or where Sal- "Salazar" was just too long, and "Slytherin" seemed a bit impolite- had learned aikido). And this was along side his continued studies with Alucard and Zylo on Dark Psynergy and Selene, Michael, Integra, and just about anybody willing to on the regular stuff (the sciences, mathematics, grammar, etc.). At one point he had even learned to build- and then was forced to resort to- a time turner! But, despite the absolutely brutal training schedule, it was still the happiest Harry had ever been in his relatively short life.

One warm summer day near the end of the four months after Harry met the Founders found Integra looking out the big window in her office, watching as Harry put the accumulation of all that he had learned to the test as he sparred with Alucard at the same time. The Founders, Selene, Michael, and most of the personnel of Hellsing Agency had gathered to watch the epic clash between titans (or was that titan plus mini-titan?), cheering on one or the other. She even caught glimpses of money exchanging hands, much to her chagrin.

Harry fired off several dozen zigzagging beams of black-violet light- what Alucard called _Dark Arrow_, then, rushing in as his teacher was occupied with blocking his attack, launched the deceptively small _Dark Bomb_ at the elder vampire at point-blank range. Integra was surprised when the spell made contact, blasting the man away for several meters.

She turned away from the fight, going back to the report on her desk. She had been trying to find the information on Harry for several months now- since she had discovered that Harry was a wizard, as a matter of fact- and she had finally been able to obtain his official papers from both the government files and the Ministry of Magic files just the day before.

Which was not good, since she had just discovered that, according to both files, Harry's birthday was on the July 31st.

Today was July 29th.

A/N: It's Harry's birthday! Oh no!

This one was more humorously inclined then the other chapters so far, and I decided to add in that part about Helga and Rowena being nymphomaniacs because… well, no reason really. It will serve no purpose, other then maybe as a running gag later on.

Review!


	13. Chapter 12: Happy Birthday, Harry!

A/N: Sorry for the VERY late update. This chapter is proving a killer to revamp. This is the last chapter before arc 2 starts, so I decided to make it a special… as per regulation. After all, Harry's birthday is special and all that… though, I will admit now that most of it might seem a bit clichéd. Oh well. Now, on to the reviews!

To **Archmagelite2000yrs**: The Scythe is there for a reason. Actually, Thanifex, plus the other weapons I toss in here, are only here for the so purpose of… well, that would be telling, now wouldn't it?

To **Mr-Dude**: Err… you might want to wait until after this chapter to say you'll be honored and all that. I'm pretty sure this chapter is going to loose all respect that I have garnered so far.

To **TheDon1023**: Heh heh… you liked that, huh? Unfortunately, Shinobu doesn't strike me as being the sexual deviant type, so… sorry. Actually, I plan on having something moderately tragic happen to her in the sequel. The only problem is whether I will have to guts to right it, since I really do like the little cutie. As for Voldemort and Hogwarts? There is no doubt that Harry will go back to Hogwarts. It'll also be during fifth year, so you can be sure Umbridge is going to get screwed up the ass… err… okay, that was a nasty image, but suffice to say, she WILL get what's coming to her. Voldemort will, too, though it'll certainly be… different, I hope.

To **vairetwilight**: The Titan was Alucard (super-powerful vampire elder, you know) and the mini-Titan was Harry (super-powerful vampire-lycan hybrid, but not as experienced). As for the Founders being a little loose: heh heh… what can I say? I had a sudden idea, and I decided to run with it. If it helps, just think of them as really eccentric, with mindsets ahead of their time.

And to the rest of you, thanks for reviewing! I can only ask that you stick with me for the next arc, since… well… I was never good at writing teenage drama, and Arc 2 has plenty, much to my chagrin. Sigh… but it can't be helped. Once again, I apologize, and ask that you stick with me for just a little more. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I've said this how many times now? I don't own any of it. If I did, Harry would be boning multiple girls, and _Hellsing_ would be more humorous. I mean, Dracula as the servant of a Protestant? Tell me there isn't any potential in that for a great comedy!

Chapter 12: Happy Birthday, Harry!

Harry swore under his breath as he dodged another bullet, followed by more blasts from Alucard's ridiculously powerful _Dark Arrow_ spells. He'd been at this spar for twenty minutes now, and he'd only been able to land insignificant blows on the older vampire, blows that were brushed aside before being paid back twice over.

Oh, he didn't have any illusions about actually defeating his teacher, but he had hoped to at least make the man expend some energy. At the rate they'd been going, Alucard hadn't even started sweating yet, while he was drenched in sweat… and blood, from the multiple hits he'd taken.

Harry narrowly dodged another bullet (bugger just HAD to fight with super-powerful pistols, didn't he?) as he lit on an idea. Concentrating even as he dodged yet another casting of _Dark Arrow _only to take a bullet in the arm, the dark spear Thanifex appeared in his hands. Without missing a beat, he reared back and threw it with all his might at his teacher.

For a moment, Alucard's eyes widened in disbelief (at least, it looked like it; the man wasn't wearing his fedora, but those yellow shades of his were still there) before grinning and shooting the spear away with those guns of his. Previous experience (the vampire had made him practice blocking bullets with all his weapons, plus some others he didn't have) assured Harry that the spear was undamaged.

Seeing his chance, Harry sank into his shadow as he deployed the _Shadow Walk_ spell that had become almost second nature to him, only to reappear from the thin shadow of his now-wayward spear. Quickly, he charged up a _Dark Bomb_ and let it fly at near-point blank range, currently the only way he'd found that would even singe his teacher. He only had a moment to mutter an "Oh shit…" as the spell was reflected back at him, before he blacked out from the sudden and completely unexpected influx of pain.

OoOoO

Harry had… grown, would be a good way to put it, over the last four months (actually, it'd been eight, due to liberal use of a time-turner). He was broader in the shoulders, a least a foot taller then before the training, and had lost most of his baby fat. Reflecting this was the fact that his stamina, strength, and speed had increased to well beyond human levels.

On a less noticeable, but still just as significant, note, his intellect and ability to control his Dark Psynergy had increased as well. Though not with the exponential gains shown by his more physical attributes, the increases were still well beyond exceptional, and combined, allowed him to start creating his own Dark Psynergy spells. His more noteworthy ones included…

…_Ultima_, which was the Psynergetic equivalent of napalm…  
…_Dark Matter_, the next level of the _Dark Bomb_ spell in that it added shredding damage along with increased explosive force…

…_Dark Ballista_, the next level of the _Dark Arrow_ spell in that it consisted of one, extra large beam that split into smaller –though still bigger then the beams of its predecessor- as it neared the target (much like certain types of missiles)…

…And, his personal favorite, _Dragon Slave_, a spell he ripped off from some cartoon that had been rather… mature in content and had been able to replicate the shown effect- the explosive force of a small Hydrogen Bomb- rather well, if he did say so himself.

(When he had first started practicing the spell, he discovered that chanting the lines from the show when powering it up [its one weakness: it took a disgustingly long time to gather the power needed to cast it could be used as a form of psychological warfare. Those that had been watching and were familiar with the show gave him incredulous looks, while those not familiar looked slightly creeped out. When the effects were shown, however, the looks always turned into something between awe and fear, which was good, as far as Harry was concerned.)

His MOST noteworthy spell, though, was one that did no damage at all. Rather, _Moonlit Night_ healed instead, thus going against the destructive nature of Dark Psynergy. Its existence should have been fundamentally impossible, but then again, even he had to admit that the improbable and down-right impossible shit happened to him a lot (he didn't know it then, but situations like his would eventually be called "The Harry Potter Effect.").

Besides his repertory of spells and his physical stature, he noticed that his attitude had also changed. He found himself being more… relaxed, he thought the word was, then before he had come to Hellsing Agency. Oh, he still had his serious moments, and God only knows how many times he'd caught himself brooding, or something similar, but he found himself smiling to the personnel that passed him by in the halls, and it was getting easier to laugh. Heck, even the Betrayal, as he had come to call it, didn't bother him as much anymore. The dislike was still there, of course- that would forever be with him- but he didn't hate them anymore; instead of burning hatred, the thought of his former affiliation only brought with it a feeling of vague disgust, now.

His more relaxed attitude reflected in his appearance, too. His clothes, for one, were still rather simple, but no longer were they all dark colors. Sometime in the last two months, he'd taken a trip into nearby London (he wasn't worried about the vampire or lycan clans after him anymore; Alucard, in a rare show of unconditional kindness, had used his authority as an Elder to order the "original" vampires [those begotten from Alucard and his offspring to "keep the wannabes occupied." Harry hadn't heard much after that, but he'd gotten the impression that the first major meeting between the mythical beings had been bloody and one-sided, since the "originals" had a lot more tricks up their sleeves) and gotten some light colored polos and t-shirts, and some actual blue jeans and casual slacks. During his trip he'd also gotten a trim, so that now his hair, still in a ponytail and as unruly as ever, only went to shoulder length, bar two relatively long bangs that hid his famous scar, now only discernable if one looked VERY closely.

Overall, he figured that last couple months have been the best thing to ever happen to him.

OoOoO

Alucard, formerly Dracula, formerly Vlad Tepes, watched with no small amount of pride as his student groaned and picked himself of the grass. It had only taken him five seconds to recover from a _Dark Bomb_ spell; most vampires would be out of it for at least five minutes, much less an Alternate, as he had dubbed the particular vampiric branch from which Harry and his guardians hailed from. And that move…! It was incredible, and would have worked if he hadn't shielded himself at the last second. To use the shadow of a thrown weapon to get close to the target via _Shadow Walk_… it was simple, but so theoretically hard to pull off that most would dismiss it, since they had to materialize through such a small medium while said medium was still moving. But Harry had pulled off what was supposed to be very improbably… just like how he had absorbed centuries of knowledge in six months.

And he had done it without any knowledge of just how significant it was; the boy still thought it was normal to be going so fast in his studies. Truly, there was something special about the kid.

But then, that should have been given, seeing as how Thanifex had accepted him as its master. When he had been given the dark spear by a hooded stranger nearly a millennia ago, he had been told that the spear, along with four other weapons, was intended for a god. Now, he wasn't exactly the spiritual type (having God abandon you can do that to a person), so he'd naturally assumed the stranger meant it was an incredibly powerful artifact. But when the weapon had accepted Harry…

At the moment, Harry thought his wings were a genetic quirk- that, for once, fate decided to let him get lucky. But Alucard- and he knew Zylo was of the same mind- knew that there was something wholly otherworldly about the boy's black wings. Oh, he wouldn't go as far as to say that Harry was a godling, no, but his instincts, something that had gotten him through some of history's darkest moments, were telling him that the wings were a sign of great power, something he couldn't even hope to comprehend, despite his thousands of years on earth.

And, Alucard was unashamed to admit, that power was, in the end, the only reason why he was helping the boy, because he was sure that power was the key to his greatest desire: the cure to Cain's Curse.

But that was not important, at the moment. What was important was that Harry was done with training for the day, and would soon be going back into Headquarters for lunch (a bag of nutritious Type A blood).

That wasn't good, since Integra had expressively ordered him to keep the kid busy and away from the cafeteria for the next four hours.

And, though she had loosened up considerably since Harry had arrived, she was still his master, and orders were orders… that, and, though he was loath to admit it, there was something about the blonde being pissed that scared him senseless. It was irrational, since she was mortal while he was a near-all-powerful ancient vampire, but he found that no matter how hard he tried, just the mere thought would freak him out a little.

Of course, this begged the question: just why WAS the blonde so adamant about Harry not getting into the cafeteria? Was it secret research? War meeting? Orgy of disgusting proportions? No. The answer was surprisingly normal: a surprise party planned in his honor.

…Well, okay, so maybe it wasn't so surprising for her- plus Selene, Michael, and just about everyone else (he had, in typical Harry Potter fashion, touched everyone's life in some way, shape, or form)- to be planning a surprise party for Harry. After all, wasn't that what one did for someone's birthday?

OoOoO

Since they had the misfortune of finding out the day right before his birthday, everybody that wanted to participate was given leave to go prepare a present for him. Poor Harry… he was so confused when he woke up one day and found practically everyone gone from Hellsing Agency. He thought he was having a nightmare until Alucard had shown up right on time to start his daily sparring session.

After the spar, which had been disturbingly void of any kind of audience- even Selene and her trainees, who'd been at all of the ones he'd had previously, Selene pointing out flaws and exceptional tactics shown in the fight to her charges- Alucard had told him to follow him… which was strange, since he usually just told him what mistakes he made and went on his way. Figuring it was something important, Harry complied, and followed the older vampire into Headquarters. They didn't go to the cafeteria, where Harry was planning on heading to before his teacher's strange request for his company, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out where they were going. If he didn't know better, he would have thought the man was just wandering aimlessly.

Not five minutes into their wandering, Harry and Alucard were accosted by an excited Godric and a moderately amused Sal, holding a Nintendo 64©. Godric immediately started rambling something about "the greatest invention of mankind" and that it "was an incredible training machine". Several attempts to calm the man down and a threat of bodily harm later, it was revealed that Godric had discovered the wonders of Super Smash Brothers© and was asking them to play it with him. Harry was expecting a stern, if not downright rude, refusal from Alucard. He nearly had a heart attack when Alucard had agreed to join them.

Harry didn't know this, but they didn't really want to play the computerized and, in some strange way, cutesy fighting game; they were just supposed to distract him while Selene, Rowena, Helga, Michael, and Integra (hereby referred to simply as "the girls", decorated the mess hall for his impromptu birthday party. But then Harry started ripping them apart using harmless-looking Jigglypuff, and the three older beings, who were all well versed in war and fighting, took it as a challenge and pretty much got addicted.

So when Zylo, who had been helping as much as he could, came to tell them they could come, he found three of them mashing buttons and swearing up a storm while the fourth (Harry) just laughed as he dished out yet another serving of defeat using- who else?- Jigglypuff. Zylo, technophile that he was, forgot what his job had been and stayed to watch.

And this was how Rowena, Helga, and Integra found them an hour later: laughing and roaring out friendly curses and insults as they played (or in the case of Zylo, watched) the addicting little game. The men didn't even notice their presence until the women grabbed the ears of the respective husbands (or life long companion, in Integra's case), pulled them up, and dragged them painfully away from the telly before doing a complete one-eighty (literally and figuratively) and motherly telling Harry to follow them.

When Harry walked into the mess hall, he was greeted by what could only be described as a wave of sounds and color, as everyone in the ranks of Hellsing Agency, in civilian clothing no less, screamed "Happy Birthday!" to him. What followed was the biggest and best party Harry ever had, with practically everyone he had met during his six-month stay coming over to personally wish him a happy birthday before handing him their gift and, in the case of some of the younger female rookies, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Later, after the party, his family, as that was what they were to him now, gathered in his room to give him their presents privately.

From Michael and Selene he got a MP3 player. Harry was delighted, because he finally found a way to bring along his favorite music wherever he went. When Seras asked him what his favorite type of music was, he, in a moment of pure irony, answered "Christian Rock". It was funny when one realized he was supposed to be an "evil creature of the night" (said in a heavily sarcastic manner, of course).

From Godric he got the man's ruby-encrusted sword, though how he had managed was beyond the birthday boy. Harry's eyes had bugged when he saw it in Godric's hands, and found it no longer looked like the blade from his second year battle with the basilisk (which, it turns out, was placed there by Salazar's great-great-great-great grandson, who had become Hogwarts' third headmaster).

Now it was at least five times bigger, with a knife-like blade that was a good six feet long and one foot wide, all made out of some kind of red crystal that was, according to Godric, harder than titanium alloy (he had mispronounced it, actually, but Rowena was kind enough to translate). The hilt was still silver and encrusted with rubies, though now it was bigger to accommodate the new blade size.

When asked how he had done it, Godric just winked and told him it was a secret. It was at this moment that Harry figured Dumbledore was going to be extremely baffled to find his beloved sword gone. The thought made him grin evilly for a moment.

From Rowena he got a wand: twelve inches, colored blue with streaks of bronze, and tipped with a tiny, but intricate, raven. Harry found this strange, since most of his lessons had been wandless (and incantationless, too; he had been surprised to learn that it wasn't until the 7th century that wand use became mainstream. Before that, wands were only for the borderline magic users, the ones that were almost squibs, but not quite. The wand was the magical equivalent to the wheelchair, and provided a focus for those not strong enough to do it themselves.

(But some important figure in wizarding society around that time started using the wand, and the fad caught on, until everyone was using it and had forgotten just what the main reason for a wand was. Unfortunately, that meant that the "magic muscle" that magic users were born with didn't get the workout that was needed for wandless magic, making it so that, after generations of wand users, the once-common ability was now the stuff of legends, a sign of a powerful wizard or witch; basically, the wizarding world was now almost entirely made of what the denizens of several centuries ago would have called the magically lame. Harry had actually found himself feeling a little sorry for his former community after hearing the tale), but then she had explained that the wand wasn't really a wand at all, but what could only be described as a miniaturized staff. It's abilities were amplification of Psynergy and, as a training tool, dampening of Psynergy. Harry was relieved; the only method he had of increasing his Psynergy stores up to that point had been to just continuously cast spells until he fainted from exhaustion. Obviously not a good idea, as one could see.

From Helga he got a little crystal vial of what looked like garnet and onyx, filled with a strong healing draught that replenished itself every time it was used. Harry knew that with the near-immortality he got as a werewolf-vampire hybrid, he himself wasn't going to need it anytime soon, but it would be good to have around, just in case somebody else needed it. That, and it made such a cool necklace, since it came with a cord.

From Salazar he got a baby jaculus, a winged serpent. He told Harry that Estella, as the jaculus was named, was a girl that would have been five or six years old if she were a human. He didn't find out more, for the little (half a foot long and slender) snake had flown to his wrist, wrapped around it a few times, and few asleep. Harry had found the action rather cute.

From Alucard he got two heavily customized Taurus Raging Bulls, Model 500, with a stainless-steel finish and an eight inch barrel. And, even though the thing already fired .500 S&W Magnum caliber bullets (which were 2.1 inches long!), Alucard had seen it fit to engrave them with a series of arcane runes: the ones on the handles allowed him to channel Dark Psynergy into the bullets, while the one on the cylinders (eight-chambered, as opposed to the regulation five-chamber; ah, the wonders of magic!) allowed inifinite bullets and self-reload. In short, Harry received two of what could be considered hand-held, inifinite-ammo-containing, self-reloading, magical gernade launchers. He was obviously thrilled.

From Zylo, who had asked Alucard to help him get Harry's present, he got the late-but-still-kickin'-it werewolf's own Steel Claws, which were shaped from alchemized silver and blessed with holy water. Also with this gift came the fact that, as wielder of a pair of Steel Claws, he was now officially a Wolf Baron. Harry found himself honored beyond belief.

And finally, from Integra he got…

"Plane tickets?" Harry asked incredulously, looking at the three tickets in confusion.

"Yes, to Japan!" Integra practically bubbled, a truly disturbing sight, if there ever was one. Harry was reminded of Helga for a brief moment.

"Cool… why?"

"Well, ever since Alucard explained the significance of Thanifex and Caput Mortuum…"

"…That they were supposedly powerful weapons of divinity, which means I'm really, really special," Harry quipped; he had not been happy to find out about that last bit. Really, why did this shit always had to happen to him? It was bad enough he'd apparently escaped death twice now.

"Hey now, I didn't exactly say they were divine, just they were supposedly god-like," Alucard defended himself; he really didn't like having himself and anything of a divine nature referred to in the same statement.

"…Right, well, ever since Alucard explained the significance of your two dark weapons and how there were two more you needed to find, I took the privilege of taking the search off your hands and had my operatives start researching them. I just got the call in yesterday that they've found one of them, Hina, in Hinata City, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan. At first I was going to tell you, but then I found out your birthday was coming up, so I figured this would make a great birthday present. So, was I right?" she grinned in that way that made her look decidedly younger and more feminine. It helped that for once she was not wearing her usual business suit, but regular a t-shirt and jeans.

Harry blinked. He had resigned himself to combing the world for them, but now it turns out that the job had been taken from his hands? He… the only thing he could think of doing was to thank her for lifting the great burden from his shoulders. So he did… and gave her a hug while he was at it.

"Thank you, Integra," Harry whispered, in the most heartfelt tone he could muster, since he had to make it count. He didn't see her smile softly, something she hadn't done in years, but did feel her brief return hug.

"Kid… she's waaaaaay out of your league," he heard Alucard joke, completely ruining the moment.

Moment over, he looked down again and counted the tickets. "…Umm… I'm curious… why three?" he asked, puzzled by the extra tickets.

"That would be for us, Harry," Michael took over, "When we heard about Hina being found, we knew you were going to go search for it as soon as possible. Well, we sure as hell were not going to let you go alone, you know?"

"But… your jobs here…!"

"What jobs? We had a feeling you were going to leave soon, so we were really just volunteering. Besides, Integra has been able to get me a lecturing position at Tokyo University and Selene a job on their police force, so no worries." Michael grinned. Selene nodded in agreement.

"Also, they're needed to pose as your parents while you pose as a high school sophomore. You're going to be doing this undercover." Alucard added.

"Undercover? What?"

"Ah yes, forgot about that little detail," Integra muttered, before clearing her throat. "Harry, the Knights of the Round Table, of which I am a member of, have given me permission to give to you full status as a special agent of the Hellsing Agency, to be active as of now… that is, if you'll accept?" She asked the last part with an amused grin, knowing what his choice would be before hand; he had not made any attempt to hide his interest the job opportunity Hellsing Agency offered.

True to form, Harry returned the grin and said, "I accept, Integra."

Integra's eyes lit up. "Excellent, Harry! And to make it official…" she stood up, and Harry followed her example, "Agent Harry James Potter!"

"Yes ma'am!" Harry saluted, as he's seen some of the soldiers do.

"Hmmm… looks like somebody's been studying… but that's off topic. Agent Harry James Potter, your mission is to locate and obtain the supernatural artifact Hina, considered potentially dangerous, and so caution is advised. You will infiltrate and obtain by use of stealth tactics preferably, but use of force is authorized. You will go undercover as a high school student until you've found and obtained Hina. Are your objectives clear, agent?"

"Yes ma'am!" Harry saluted again, before starting to chuckle.

Integra blinked. "What's so funny?" She asked.

"I'm sorry, Integra, but you have to admit: that was just plain weird!" Harry said as soon as his chuckles died down.

Integra blinked again, before grinning in agreement, "You know, I think I'll be giving you your missions less formally from now on."

Harry nodded. "So, when do I leave?" He asked.

"In three months, which means you and your 'parents' have to learn how to speak Japanese fluently by then."

He sighed, an expression echoed by his two guardians; learn to speak a foreign language well enough to live among the natives… oh, joy. Well, that's what time-turners were for, he guessed.

Review! (It helps! Really!)


	14. Chapter 13: Enter Maehara Shinobu!

A/N: Sorry for the late update, people. I, very unfortunately, got myself hooked on the RPG _Ahriman's Prophecy_. I finally beat it though, so now I'm back with chapter 13, the start of arc two of _Amongst the Dead_ and the beginning of Harry's short stay in Japan. Sorry, **TheDon1023**, but no, this will not be a Bleach crossover (though I do have one planned in the far future- see my profile). A fan favorite from another, much loved, manga will show up in a couple chapters, though, and I personally believe he's cooler then Ichigo… or any Soul Reaper, for that matter.

Disclaimer: I wish I owned _Love Hina_, _Harry Potter_, and _Hellsing_, but I obviously don't. Oh, the pain! The agony!

Chapter 13: Enter Shinobu Maehara!

A month later, Harry, Selene, and Michael found themselves in an apartment in Japan, unpacking their stuff as movers came in with couches, cabinets, and other furniture, courtesy of Hellsing Agency.

Harry, who had been enrolled at the local high school, found himself looking forward to being a high school student, something that he had thought impossible before, especially with being forced to go to Hogwarts, then running away from his fellow Alternates and Lycans (Alucard's name for them had quickly caught on). This would give him the chance to make friends his own age who wouldn't faint or stutter at the name of Harry Potter.

Finishing his unpacking, Harry looked around his medium sized room, deciding on what to do. Figuring he might as well start reconnaissance of the areas close by, he grabbed his MP3 player and headed outside, telling Selene and Michael he was going for a walk.

Strangely enough, despite the rigorous military training he received, he soon found himself doing more sightseeing then reconnaissance… which really couldn't be helped, seeing as how he'd never been off the English Isles until now. But that's what you get when you've been abused, killed, and hunted for most of your childhood: you get a little repressed.

…Which explained why he didn't see the short, grocery-laden bluette he was on a straight collision course with.

OoOoO

Maehara Shinobu was walking back from the grocery store, two giant bags of food laden in her arms. It was a Sunday, which left her a bit worried, because she had school the next day and hadn't started the paper she was supposed to write. She still had to decide what to write about, which was a bit hard because her sempai, Urashima Keitaro (who also happened to be the landlord of the girl's dormitory she was currently staying at) wasn't there to help her, as he was studying abroad in America. Despite his clumsiness, forgetfulness, and perversions (He wasn't really perverted, but Naru, his girlfriend-that-really-wasn't-his-girlfriend, kept on calling him that until one instinctively thought of him as such), he was always such a great help to her. It was only because of him and his tutoring that she got into the high school of her choice.

She sighed. Of all the men she had to fall in love with, she had to fall in love with the one man that was already infatuated with someone that, though she would never admit it in public, was madly in love with him, too. She knew it wasn't healthy for her to pine away for a man that was so far out of reach now, but she really couldn't help it! He was the first and only boy to truly try to know her. Sure, the high school had boys, but they were interested in nothing more then cars, games, and how to get into a girl's panties. The other girls may find that charming, but she for one didn't!

She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice the figure walking towards her until they bumped into each other, making her drop her grocery bags and letting all the food roll out. She let out a small "eep" and started apologizing profusely, getting down on bended knee to pick up the escaped groceries. "Oh! I'm so sorry, sir! I must have started daydreaming or something and I didn't look where I was going and…"

The deep chuckle she got made her look up through the blue-black hair bangs that had fallen over her eyes, and she found herself staring into the greenest eyes she'd ever seen. Mesmerized, it took all her will power to break the gaze. When she did, she found herself looking at a black-haired _gaijin_… a rather handsome black-haired _gaijin_ that worked out, if what she could see through the simple black t-shirt he wore with his jeans was any indication. She couldn't help the blush that crept onto her cheeks.

"Don't worry about it, ma'am. If anything, I should be the one apologizing!" The stranger said. He gave her a disarming grin as he got on his knees and helped her gather the food.

"But-but I wasn't looking where I was going!"

"I wasn't either, even though I should have, since I'm not the one with groceries. So like I said, I should be apologizing." He finished putting all her things back in her bags, then stood up and bowed. "_Gomen-nasai_," he said, before going on his way.

Shinobu watched as he walked down the street and turned a corner. How strange… the man was obviously a foreigner, yet he spoke Japanese like he was born in the country. Maybe he was…? But it wasn't really her concern; she needed to get home before Su or Naru-_sempai_ tried to cook, which could only end in disaster. Putting the stranger out of her mind, she started for Hinata House once again.

OoOoO

The next day, Shinobu arrived at school to find all of the girls whispering amongst themselves, with accompanying giggles every once in a while. 'Probably talking about some idol or whatnot… again,' she thought to herself before rolling her eyes at the ridiculousness of that particular obsession.

When she walked into her class, she found that the teacher for the first class hadn't arrived yet, and the chatting was even more intense than outside. Sitting at her desk, she asked the girl next to her, her friend Yuki, about it. "What's all the excitement about?"

Yuki looked at her in surprise. "You mean you don't know?" she asked in return.

"Know what?"

"There's a new student coming in today, and he's supposed to be really cute!"

"Cute? And how cute is 'really cute'?"

"Well, you know Hiyasaka from the other class?"

Shinobu's interest was pricked; Hiyasaka Kimiko had to be the most faithful girlfriend on the face of Japan. Ever since she met her boyfriend (now a sophomore) she only had eyes for him… period. The fact that the words "cute guy" and "Hiyasaka" came up in the same conversation, with the "cute guy" not being her boyfriend (presumably; it would have been a mite bit strange if Hiyasaka WAS talking about her boyfriend)… "What about her?" Shinobu asked, very curious.

"She's the one who let it slip about the cute new guy."

Shinobu's eyes nearly popped. Hiyasaka… noticed? It was either the end of the world, or this guy was the god of all sex gods.

Before she could get anymore details, the teacher walked in, followed by someone who was, unfortunately, blocked from Shinobu's sight by all the girls that had stood up as soon as the door opened, trying to get a better view. She could hear sighs coming from the front of the room.

"Settle down!" The teacher shouted over the clamor, and all the girls sat down, "Class, we have a new student." He turned to the rather familiar looking stranger, whose eyes had widened almost incomprehensibly upon laying eyes on Shinobu before going back to giving the class in general a friendly look. "Potter-_san_, if you would introduce yourself?" the teacher asked.

He nodded to the teacher before giving the class a respectful bow. "_Konnichiwa_. My name is Harry James Potter, and I just recently moved here. I was previously home schooled, so please, excuse me if I act a little… weird; I really have no idea what of what I'm supposed to do as a high school student," he said, giving a charming grin that had several girls visibly swooning."

"Thank you, Potter-_san_," the teacher said when he finished, "Please take your seat. It's the empty one in the back."

Potter-_san_ nodded once more before making his way to the back, the girls staring at him the whole time… well, most of them, anyways.

Shinobu was the one exception; she just sat there in shock. It was the man from yesterday! Or… she had thought he was a man. But now, on closer inspection, she saw that he was really around her age, though there was something about him- something she couldn't quite place a finger on- that made him seem older. Either way though, she was shocked to see him again.

"Shinobu-chan? You alright?" Yuki quietly asked her, rousing her from her surprise-induced stupor.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She whispered back, before grabbing her notebook and pencil and taking notes on the teacher's lecture, trying her hardest not to turn around and look at the not-so-new boy.

OoOoO

Later that day, Shinobu stepped off the bus in front of the local library, intent on doing some studying for another paper she had to do. The day had been altogether tiring for her, what with having the mysterious and handsome stranger show up in her class like in some _shojo_ manga, having to hand in her half-assed paper (that she hadn't finished until this morning due to an impromptu drinking binge started by Kitsune the night before, a drinking binge that had involved all the older residents and eventually degenerated into a noisy and rather distracting- though funny- karaoke sing-off) and getting a tongue lashing for it, being bugged by Yuki about her reaction to Potter-_san_. At the end of the day, the teacher had assigned them a short research paper (200 words. Argh) on the discovery of the heliocentric nature of the solar system, due the next day. She sighed as she made her way to the library entrance; her life, as of right now, officially sucked.

After grabbing as many books as she could, she made her way to the table she usually used during research projects such as these, put her stuff down, and grabbed one of the books from her pile. She settled herself down to read, glanced up at the clock to see how much time she had… and promptly had her sight land on a certain black-haired _gaijin_ sitting at her table and across from her, engrossed in a book.

It was then that the gaijin looked up from his book and, when he saw Shinobu staring at him in shock, dryly said, "You know, I think someone up there is trying to tell us something."

"What, that I have a stalker?" Shinobu uncharacteristically let slip out before she could think- the day had really been getting to her. She immediately gave a soft "eep" and covered her mouth, realizing what she had said. "I'm so sorry! That was so rude of me…"

The _gaijin_ gave a pleasant, deep laugh that, for some strange reason, sent a shiver down her spine. "Don't worry about it, ma'am. I probably would have said the same in your position."

"Oh…" There was an awkward silence as the _gaijin_ went back to reading his book. The silence getting too oppressive, Shinobu tried to start another conversation, "Well… erm… are you here to do the paper we got?"

"That? Nope. I finished already. It's not all that hard."

Shinobu's eyes bugged. He finished? Already? It wasn't even an hour after school ended!

"Need help?" the _gaijin_ offered, seeing her look of distress.

"I… yes please," She sighed, blushing slightly.

"Alright." He put his book down, then stuck out his hand. "By the way, I'm Harry Potter."

She took the hand and shook it. "Shinobu Maehara," she returned, saying her family name last, as in the western tradition.

"Alright, Maehara-san." He gave her a grin, and she felt her legs get strangely weak for a moment, though she was already sitting in a chair. He pulled out a book from somewhere underneath the table and flipped it to a particular page. He pointed at a particular passage and began.

"Now, popular history tells us that the heliocentric theory was first proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus in 1514, but the origins of the theory go back further then that, to ancient Greece, when the Pythagoreans…"

A/N: Wow… fluff is surprisingly hard to write. It's really a challenge trying to keep it from being too cheesy, but still give people that romantic setting… that, and trying not to wretch at the seemingly corniness of it all. I think I did a pretty decent job for a first time, though… well, actually, I must make a confession: this ISN'T my first time writing fluff. I'd actually tried before with a _Tenchi Muyo!_/_Dragonball_ crossover, but my Sasami/OC fluff was beyond crap. Thankfully, it's been a few years since then, so I've been able to refine my talents a bit… that, and I grew up- I'd written it when I was fourteen.

Oh, and before you ask, no, I never posted it up; I never even had it typed, and it's still written down on a pile of binder paper somewhere at home, hopefully never to see the light of day ever again… though you never know… heh heh heh…

Review!


	15. Chapter 14: Rained In

A/N: And the corny fluff continues! I know my basic plot for Harry and Shinobu's romance has been done before, but… well, what HASN'T already been done? Besides, this might as well be my first time writing romance, so I'm going to take it slow, make liberal use of clichés, and focus on making this particular pairing even remotely possible. So, if it doesn't meet your standards… well, I'm planning to do better (much better) with Shinji and Latias (don't know what I'm talking about? Read my profile), so stayed tuned!

Some answers to you readers…

**wingsofeagle**: Just one more. I know, it's a might bit confusing, but… well… I just HAD to bring in this guy; his situation made him perfect for the part.

**Dark Topaz**: Actually, the Wizarding World doesn't really get a wake-up call until the third book: _Loose Ends_. Dumbledore and his posse, on the other hand, are going to get one hell of a slap in the face at the end of this fic.

Disclaimer: I'm not really sure why I keep on doing this. It's obvious I don't own any of these francises, so why even bother stating it? It's not like I REALLY need another reminder.

Chapter 14: Rained In

After the library incident, Shinobu and Harry became fast friends. They kept their friendship a secret, though, on Shinobu's suggestion. When Harry asked why, she gave him a look and incredulously asked, "Are you kidding me?!? If the girls at school ever find out about this, they'd either mob me for information or kill me in jealousy… or both, knowing some of them; they'll torture the information out of me before putting me out of my misery!"

When he had just blinked and asked why that would be, she was sure she was going to blow… until she saw the genuine confusion on his face. She had asked him if he knew of his current standing with the high school population, and he just shook his head and asked why that was reverent. This led to her testing his knowledge of the opinions of high school kids in general, and found he knew next to nothing about life as a teenager.

That day, Shinobu learned an important thing about Harry Potter: despite his knowledge, despite that I'm-younger-then-I-look aura he projected, he was incredibly naïve. Of course, she found his naïveté one of his more charming qualities; "Childishly Clueless Harry" was just plain adorable.

Since they couldn't let their friendship be known to the public, they regularly met in the library, where they would always study together. She found that Harry's knowledge of history in general was astounding, and his knowledge of Human Biology and chemistry was beyond what most of the seniors learned. His mathematics needed a bit of work, but hers did, too, so it worked out; they would quiz and teach each other, usually learning more that way then when the math teacher lectured. And, of course, his English skills were obvious, coming from the country that had developed the language.

OoOoO

It had been nearly a month after they had met. It was raining, and they were just getting off the bus (after the first studying session, Harry had started riding the bus with her to the library). Shinobu and Harry had both forgotten their umbrellas at home, so they had rushed over to the library entrance… to find it locked, the library closed for remodeling. They turned back and found that the bus was already gone.

"Aw, son of a… grrrrr!!" Shinobu muttered as she tugged futilely at the doors.

"Wow… Shinobu-_chan_ almost swore! The world is coming to an end!" Harry had teased… until the (much) smaller girl had whacked his arm with her book bag.

"Oh quiet, you! Argh! This sucks! I'm soaked, the bus is gone, and the next one doesn't come for another half an hour! Why the hell didn't I bring my umbrella?!"

"Because it was sunny this morning?"

"That was rhetorical, Harry," Shinobu said, glaring at Harry in irritation.

"Oh… you know, my place is close to here…" Harry muttered, peering out into the rain. He suddenly turned to Shinobu and grinned. "You know what? I just got a great idea! Why don't we just hole up at my place for now? It's only a few blocks from here!"

Shinobu suddenly blushed; it was strange, but the very thought of going over to Harry's place had her embarrassed. "I… erm… don't want to intrude, Harry…" She stuttered, looking down and hoping he wouldn't her blush.

"Nonsense! It'll be fine! My father is currently giving a lecture at Tokyo U, and my mother is asleep, since she works at night."

"Wait… your father lectures at Tokyo University? Two of my friends attend there!"

"Really? Cool! Maybe Father knows them."

They got out from the library doorway and started running from rain cover to rain cover, Shinobu following Harry as they made for his apartment.

OoOoO

They got to Harry's apartment fifteen minutes later. It was ten floors up the twenty-floor building… and the elevator was down. One can imagine the agony Shinobu was in by the time they arrived… though Harry hadn't look all that tired, just slightly annoyed. They were both soaked to the bone and leaving large puddles in their wake.

As soon as they were in the apartment, Harry started looking for some towels they could use, leaving Shinobu to look around. She found that the apartment was large and spacious, with the living room combined with the kitchen. She could immediately see a hallway and three doors from her place by the entrance. The living room contained two comfortable-looking sofas and two equally comfortable-looking recliners, arranged around a coffee table. The walls had some picture hanged on them, pictures of Harry posing and laughing with four people, two boys and two girls, that couldn't have that much older then Harry. She was about to look at some of the pictures in more detail when her friend returned with two large, fluffy towels. He tossed one to her, and they spent the next five minutes wiping themselves down and laughing at how the other looked with messy hair (or messiER hair, in Harry's case).

They must have been rather loud in their teasing, because they soon heard a sleepy voice call out in English, "Harry? Is that you?" from one of the rooms that connected to the living room. At least, that's what Shinobu that thought it was; her grasp of English wasn't all that great. Sure, it was better then most in her class, but she could barely be called even partially fluent.

"Yes, mother! I'm home early!" Harry called back in Japanese.

"What are you doing back so early? Shouldn't you be at the library?" the voice- Harry's mother, Shinobu now knew- called out again, this time in oddly accented Japanese. Shinobu then heard a bit of shuffling before a woman stepped out in a bath robe. Shinobu's jaw dropped; Harry's mom looked to be at most nineteen and fresh out of high school! Even Naru looked older then her!

"It was closed. Something about remodeling," Harry said, shrugging like it was no big problem.

"I see." Harry's mom then saw Shinobu for the first time, and raised a started eyebrow. "Hmm… and who might this be?" She asked, a smile slowly spreading across her face. It was a sly smile, and Shinobu suddenly had the feeling that this woman had a wicked sense of humor.

She stepped forward and bowed before introducing herself. "I am Shinobu Maehara, one of Harry's classmates. It is nice to meet you, Mrs. Potter," She said in her best English (complete with the western-traditional rotated name order), blushing.

"Shinobu's a friend and my study partner, mother," Harry added, though in Japanese.

" I see. Well, Maehara-chan, it's nice to meet you, too. And please, call me Selene. There's no need to be so formal!" Harry's mother said, giving Shinobu a sly smile changing into a fond one. "You'll have to excuse me. I have the night shift, and I have to be wide awake or the sergeant will have my head. Good night… or rather, good afternoon." She yawned and turned back into the room… and reappeared seconds later with a pile of clothes. "Oh, and here," she said as she handed them to Shinobu, "Don't want my little Harry's girlfriend to catch her death of cold!"

"MOTHER!!!" Harry almost roared as he and Shinobu blushed bright red. Selene just laughed and rushed back into her room.

Harry sighed. "Sorry about that. Father's sense of humor rubbed off on her. The bathroom's down the hall. I'll see what I can make for you to eat while you change."

"But… these are your mother's clothes!" Shinobu said, still blushing.

"So? You can't very well stay in that damp uniform! My mother's right… well, except for the girlfriend thing…" Harry blushed. Shinobu noticed he was actually pretty cute when he blushed, which made her turn redder in return (though how that had been possible was up for debate; she had already been tomato red before). But it was only for a moment, as Harry shook his head and said, "Eh, you get the idea! So shoo! Shoo! Go get changed!" He made shooing motions with his hand, and Shinobu giggled as she headed for the bathroom.

When she came back, Harry was giving her a sheepish grin. "Sorry, but it seems mother forgot the groceries again. We've got nothing, so all I can offer you is a glass of water," He said, flustered.

Shinobu, now wearing an overly large black blouse with some black hip-hugger jeans (that were NOT supposed to be hip hugger jeans- she had no illusions of the fact that, even for an Asian girl, she was rather… petite) while carrying her damp uniform in her arms, said, "That's alright, Harry. I wasn't all that hungry anyway." She gave him a smile to show she meant it, but Harry just sighed and plopped down on one of the sofas. She followed, and they were soon studying.

OoOoO

Two hours later, she was almost finished with her homework. Harry, having finished first, looked out the window when he saw she was in no more need of his help.

"Well, crap," Harry muttered.

"What is it?" Shinobu asked, looking up from her last English question.

"It's still raining, and I think it got harder. There is no way I'm going to let you go home in that, and Father, who has the car, won't be back from his lecture for another two hours!"

"But… everybody at Hinata House will be worried about me… and that can't be good for you or the city!" Shinobu moaned.

Harry blinked. "Huh?"

"Su will probably raze half of the city looking for me, and when she, and the rest of them, finds me here with you, they'll most likely castrate you for being a pervert!" she explained. She was both amused and a little creeped out that she was actually bored when she explained this.

Harry blinked again, before saying in a tone that made it seem like he was stating the obvious, "But… I'm not a pervert."

(It didn't occur to Shinobu until much later that maybe she should have asked why he had questioned the part about him being a pervert, as opposed to the part about how one of her dorm mates could raze a city.)

"Yes, well, Keitaro-sempai, the landlord of our dormitory, isn't one either, but Naru and Motoko periodically accuse him of being one before smashing him all the way to Tokyo. And Naru is in love with him! Think of what they'll do to you, since to them you're just some random punk boy!"

Another blink. "… Your dorm mates seem to have problems with coming to the right conclusion. I think there's a word for that, but I can't really remember right now… Anyways, they're just being protective, which means they care for you. You should be thankful."

Shinobu just stared at him; did he not get the idea that he was going to die if they ever found out about him? Did nothing phase him?!

"Umm… Shinobu-_chan_?" he asked after a while of shocked silence on her part. She snapped out of it when he waved his hand in front of her face.

"…Who are you?!?"

He gave her a cheeky grin. "Harry James Potter, formerly of Britain."

"You know what I mean, Harry!"

He laughed. "I'm sure they won't, since you can always just call them."

She was, once again, shocked speechless for a moment. A phone call! Why didn't she think of that? She mentally smacked herself for being an idiot.

Seeing her distress, Harry said, "Kitchen, near the counter."

"Thanks." She got up and headed for the kitchen. Halfway there, she turned around and cheekily asked him, "By the way, your middle name's 'James'? I would have thought it was something more… exotic!"

"Just go!" he shouted at her, lobbing a nearby pillow at her for good measure. She laughed and dodged before continuing on her way to the kitchen.

When she returned, she plopped back down in her previous seat and was instantly bored… until she noticed the Playstation under the T.V.

"I never knew you played video games, Harry," Shinobu commented, pointing at the system.

"I don't, really; that's Father's. He's obsessed with finding a way to beat me in _Tekken Tag Tournament_." He replied in an off-hand manner.

"Hmm…" She was bored and stuck here for two hours… eh, why the hell not? "Play yah?"

Harry looked at her for a moment before shrugging. "Sure." He went to set up the system.

Ten minutes later, Harry was staring in shock as Shinobu's character landed a final blow on his, knocking him out and winning the round.

"I win!" She said, before laughing at Harry's shocked face.

Harry shook his head, and, with a determined look, said, "Again!"

And that was how they were when a tall, clean-shaven man who looked to be in his mid-twenties walked in. As soon as he saw that Shinobu had beaten Harry once again, leaving him crying as he stared at the screen, the man fell to his knees and laid himself prostrate on the carpet before her. "Great _Sensei_! I beg of you, give me your wisdom!" the man begged in Japanese, his face buried in the carpet.

"Oh, shut up, Father," Harry grumbled, turning his eyes to the man and glaring.

The man got up so that he was on his knees, and Shinobu noticed he had what could only be described as a Cheshire Cat grin on his face. The man was practically radiating good humor, and it was contagious. Soon, Shinobu was giggling and Harry had a small smile on his face.

"So, Harry, who's your girlfriend?" the man, presumably Harry's father, grinned cheekily and wiggled his eyebrows.

"You're too late; mother beat you to that joke," Harry deadpanned, but like her, he had a blush creeping up his face.

"What joke?"

"FATHER!!!" Both children were now blushing bright red, and Harry's father just laughed.

"Whatever, kiddo." The man then turned his attention to Shinobu, "Well, I haven't introduced myself, so…" he stood up, and bowed. "…I'm Michael, Harry's father. It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss…?"

"Umm… I'm Shinobu Maehara, sir," she supplied, saying her family name last again, since he was obviously western, as was his wife.

"Ah, Maehara-chan, then! Here's a word of advice: if he starts acting up on you, smack him upside the head. It's guaranteed to work!" Michael said with a wink. Harry groaned while Shinobu giggled.

"Father…" Harry ground out, his teeth clenched.

"Yeah, kiddo?" Michael asked, his Cheshire Cat grin in place again.

"Shinobu needs a ride home. Can you drive her, since we need to go get some groceries anyways?" Harry asked, his teeth still clenched.

"If it's not any trouble, Mister Potter," Shinobu added.

"It's not, Maehara-chan, trust me." The man's grin widened, if that was even possible.

She quickly packed her things, and both her and Harry followed Michael out the door.

"By the way, Maehara-chan, where do you live?"

"Hinata House, sir."

"Did you say Hinata? Do you by any chance know an Otohime Mutsumi?"

"Why, yes! She's one of my dorm mates! Is she in one of your classes?"

"Yep! Bright girl, that one, though she's a bit on the clumsy side, and her anemic attacks are rather… disturbing, to say the least; it's hard to lecture when one of the audience members keeps dying, or damn well close to it!"

OoOoO

"Well… crap," Harry muttered. They were at Hinata House… or rather the stairs leading to Hinata House, to be more accurate. It was still raining outside and, though it had slackened off from earlier, it was still rather hard.

"Well, it looks like I'll be walking from here," Shinobu groaned as she opened the car door. She stepped outside, expecting an onslaught of pouring rain, and found that it was completely dry. She looked up, and found Harry holding an umbrella over her. She smiled gratefully, and they headed up the stairs.

(Once again, it wasn't until later she realized that for Harry to have gotten to her side of the car before she even opened to door, he would have had to run around the car in two-to-three seconds.)

A quarter ways up, Shinobu stopped and, turning to Harry, said, "You'd better go, Harry. I really don't want Naru or Motoko to see you; there's no knowing what they'll do!" She gave him a small smile, but it still didn't make her words sound less like a dismissal in her ears.

Harry just grinned and pushed the umbrella into her hands. Shinobu was shocked.

"But-!"

"Don't worry, I'm pretty much cold-and-flu proof!"

"But you and your parents have already let me borrow so much…!"

"And you can give them back to us whenever you like. I'm telling you: Don't. Worry."

Shinobu just stared at Harry for a moment, before, on an impulse, going on tip-toe and giving him a light kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Harry. You're a sweetheart," she shyly whispered before rushing off.

It wasn't until she was inside the dormitory when the full impact of what she had done hit her. For the rest of the night, she had a bright red blush that made the other occupants of Hinata House worry for her health.

OoOoO

Harry stared in shock at Shinobu's retreating back. Did she just…? With a start he realized he had a goofy smile plastered over his face. He shook it off and made his way back to Michael's car.

When he got in, Michael gave him a cheeky grin and an eyebrow-wiggle. "My my, looks like little Harry's finally grown up, since it's obvious he knows how to pick his girls! She's cute, by the way, real cute. I wonder if that's her natural hair color… Heh heh." He nudged Harry with his elbow.

"Shut up, Michael," Harry growled warningly.

"Or what?" came the cheeky reply.

Harry grinned evilly. "Or I'll tell Selene about that little comment you just made about Shinobu. I don't think 'Mother' would be very pleased with you for making lewd remarks about your 'son's' female classmate and friend."

"…"

He smirked. "Checkmate, amateur."

"I hate you sometimes, you know that?"

"Whatever you say, Michael. Okay, we have to go to the grocery store."

"Why? We can't eat any real food anyway, or have you forgotten that?"

"No, oh wise one, but we need food in case she comes over again… not to mention I need to start up cooking once more; I think I've gotten rusty."

Michael turned the key, and they drove off into the night.

"By the way, it's still weird hearing you call me 'father'."

"Why? It's been a while now. You've had time to get used to it."

"I know, I know... but, it makes me feel so OLD, you know?"

"Yeah? Well, live with it… FATHER."

OoOoO

Shinobu gave Harry back the clothes and umbrella the next day, both acting like the kiss never happened.

Harry's apartment eventually became their favorite place to study, especially once Shinobu found out Harry could cook. Soon after she came over almost every weekend to trade recipes and cook together. Strangely, Harry never tasted any of her food, citing he couldn't taste the difference between pepper and chili powder. She had found that strange, since he was a VERY talented cook, but had let it be; she had a friend that played Jesus (i.e.: died and rose again) every few days, so this was really just a drop in the proverbial bucket.

A/N: And that's another chapter. You know, I don't think the fluff in this chapter was so bad. Of course, I'm bias, so I really can't say anything.

…Then again, it IS said that you are your own worst critic… hmmm… a paradox!

Review! I really appreciate it!


	16. Chapter 15: Detective Kitsune

A/N: I LIVE!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Ahem. Sorry 'bout that. Don't know what came over me. Heh heh…

Anyways, here's chapter 15. We finally see the other girls of Hinata-sou, so all you Su/Kitsune/Mutsumi/Naru/Sarah/Motoko fans, rejoice! Well… okay, maybe just you Kitsune fans this time, since she's the main character for this chapter, so the other girls won't play much of a role. But the next chapter will most definitely have more of the other girls, though, so stay with me! …Well, at least, all the girls except Kanako, since this takes place during book 11 of the _Love Hina _manga. Better luck in the sequel, Kanako fans.

Disclaimer: I don't own blah blah blah… really, must we go through this every time?

Chapter 15: Detective Kitsune

Konno Mitsune- called 'Kitsune' by her friends- was a slacker. There were no way she could deny that. But just because she was a slacker and didn't get into Tokyo U like her friend and former schoolmate Naru, didn't make her dumb. On the contrary, her mind was sharp as a tack, and her observation skills were second to none; she only didn't get into the university because she hadn't wanted to go through the hassle of signing up for the entrance exam.

So saying, she noticed one day when little Shinobu, master chef and unofficial little sister (along with Sarah, Seta's adoptive daughter) to the girls at Hinata House, came home happier then usual and finished with her homework.

At first she had chalked it up to a combination of being happy she had finished her homework and a smaller-then-usual workload, and left it alone. But when she came back like that EVERY school day, she started getting suspicious.

Her suspicions only grew when, on a rainy night a month after the first incident, Shinobu came back to the dormitory wearing a black blouse and a pair of jeans that were obviously too big for her, carrying an umbrella when her own was still in the bin by the door. Of course, that could have been chalked up to going to her friend Yuki's place after being caught in the storm, so that wasn't really suspicious. What was really suspicious was that the moment she walked through the door, she stopped, as if just realizing something, before blushing tomato red and hurrying to her room. She had been red and flustered the entire night!

Then, there was her birthday party. She had seemed somehow… out of it, as if the party was missing something. At first Kitsune had thought it was just because Keitaro wasn't around and she was merely pining away. But when she had pulled out the present Keitaro had sent from the States, instead of instantly brightening up, like she had expected, Shinobu just continued to be distant.

And let's not forget the sudden boom in culinary knowledge she displayed, especially in the areas of traditional and contemporary British cuisine. She was pretty sure Shinobu wasn't using her study time at the library to look up new recipes, and she knew for a fact that the girl had no friends who had recently gone to the United Kingdom… actually, she had no friends PERIOD, except for that Yuki girl who'd been friends with her since middle school; most people became scared when they heard about the infamous Hinata House, though Shinobu- bless her sweet soul- didn't know that.

Something was up with little Shinobu, and Kitsune was determined to find out what!

OoOoO

The next day, Kitsune arrived in front of Shinobu's high school, dressed in a trench coat and a wide-brimmed hat, so as to hide her more noticeable features (her face, her hair, her chest size… need she continue?). She was just in time for the last bell, luckily, and soon students were pouring out from the school building, talking, laughing, and generally relieved the day had ended.

At first Kitsune couldn't spot Shinobu anywhere, and was about to conclude that Shinobu was taking after her in the art of slacking, when she spotted the girl exiting the school and hurrying away to the nearby bus stop.

Once there, Shinobu met up with a boy that Kitsune couldn't make out, seeing as how the bus stop sign was in the way. Making her way closer, which was safe since it would just look like she was taking the same bus, she maneuvered herself until she had a better view of Shinobu's companion. Her eyes bugged when she saw the boy, and her mouth started to water.

He was Caucasian, and tall- even for a _gaijin_- with long, messy black hair (tied into a rather wild-looking ponytail that made him look rough and untamed) and emerald green eyes. His uniform jacket was slung over his shoulder, so she could see the well-defined chest and arm muscles through his shirt, showing that he worked out. She knew it was wrong, since she had to be at least four years older then him, but he was HOT!!!

But what was shy, little Shinobu doing with a hunk like that? Last time she checked, the girl had been infatuated with their landlord, not to mention she wasn't the type to do any of the things required to snag a boyfriend. They certainly couldn't be going out… could they?

The bus came then, interrupting her thoughts. Seeing the couple board, she hurriedly hopped on, paid for her fare, and grabbed a seat nearby, so she could keep an eye on the two… especially the hot one… she shook her head. NO!!! Bad Kitsune! She did NOT go for younger guys! But still…

The two got off a short time later, and Kitsune followed to find herself at the library. 'Oh! So they're just study buddies! Thank goodness… I don't think I could have handled the jealousy if Shinobu got a boyfriend before I… did…" she jokingly thought to herself, but trailed off as she watched Shinobu and Hot Guy (as she called him now), walk right past the library and down the street. She quickly followed.

Ten minutes later, she saw them enter an apartment complex. Kitsune just stood there in shock. Shinobu… and Hot Guy… just walked into an apartment building… 'I can't believe it…' Kitsune thought to herself before heading back to the bus stop, where she would take the next bus back to Hinata House. Wait until the other girls heard about this!

OoOoO

"Girls, I've got some news you'll all no doubt like to hear!" Kitsune practically squealed. It was half an hour later, and she and the girls were in the dorm's lounge.

"Kitsune, if it's another money-making scheme, you already know our answer: no, and get a job." Motoko said from her place on the floor, pouring over a textbook on law. She was currently studying for her entrance exam for Tokyo U.

"Well, if you're going to be all uppity, maybe I won't tell you, which would be your loss, since it's about Shinobu."

Motoko's, along with everybody else's, eyes shot open. Shinobu? Their little Shinobu? Their INNOCENT little Shinobu? What could this be about to get Kitsune, worldly, scheming Kitsune, so excited?

Kitsune saw their sudden interest and grinned. "Oh, so now you're interested?"

Motoko sighed and closed her textbook. "My apologies, Kitsune. Continue."

Kitsune's grin widened. "Right! Well, have you guys noticed something weird about her for the last two months? Like she's been acting strange, or getting more inventive with her cooking?"

The group looked at each other; now that they thought about it, Shinobu had been acting rather strange. "You know, now that you mention it, Shinobu seemed kind of sad during her birthday party," Naru pointed out first.

"I thought that was because the dork wasn't there," Sarah said.

"She still got his gift, though, and she still wasn't very happy." Motoko countered.

"She made that chicken _tikka masala_ last week! Yummy!" Su added, drooling at the thought of the British-Indian dish. Everybody blinked at the random statement, before turning back to Kitsune; the statement had had the effect of reminding everybody that there was news (gossip) to be received.

"Well, ladies and ladies, I think I know why!" Kitsune was almost bouncing with anticipation. At the clamor of the group to fess up, she grinned and paused for dramatic effect before saying, "Shinobu's got a boyfriend!"

A shocked silence followed the announcement… before the attic exploded in noise. The reactions of the girls varied: Sarah and Su were cheering and saying something about a keg party to celebrate (which was strange, since they were only ten and sixteen, respectively), Mutsumi just had her constant oblivious smile, and Motoko and Naru were saying something about "dealing out harsh punishment to the pervert/ perverted defiler of innocence".

Kitsune let the clamor go on for a few seconds before shushing them. "But Shinobu doesn't know I know, so for now let's keep this quiet, alright?"

The group debated for a moment, before agreeing. As they left the attic, no one noticed the rather creepy smile on Su's face… an "I'm about to invent either another mad gadget or a WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction)" smile that would have sent their landlord, if he were still in the country, running as far away from as humanly possible… and then some. The reason for this was simple: Shinobu's recently revealed secret lover had her curiosity piqued, and as a mad scientist it was almost required for her to satisfy that curiosity!

A/N: A rather short chapter this time… more of an interlude, really. Sorry. And a cliffhanger, too. Shame on me! For shame! (slaps self)

Ahem. Anyways, I wonder what Su's up to? Will she really build a WMD? Are you afraid for your life? If you aren't, you should be.

Until next time, this is Stealer, signing off.

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	17. Chapter 16: A Little Introspection

A/N: The Mad Scientist Kaolla Su strikes again… and promptly has the living hell scared out of her. Oh, and lots of mushy introspection (hence the title). What can I say? This who arc is pretty much dedicated to establishing and developing Harry and Shinobu's relationship; there will be some plot advancement, some cameos, but the spotlight's going to be on the waffy goodness… so I pray I don't screw it up somewhere along the line.

Disclaimer: Alright, you know the drill: I don't own Harry, Shinobu, Su, and any of the characters this story has featured so far. I wish I could, though. That would be the coolest Christmas gift EVER…!

Chapter 16: A Little Introspection

It was nearly a month after first going to Harry's apartment, and Shinobu was beginning to notice the strange behavior the residents of Hinata House was developing… in regards to her, at any rate. Kitsune and Sarah would make suggestive remarks to her from out of the blue, Mutsumi would seem like she was about to ask her something before clamming up and walking the other direction, Naru and Motoko asked her if she was going to be alright at least a hundred times a day, and Su was only to be seen during dinnertime, where she practically inhaled her food before excusing herself and retreating back into her room. Shinobu knew she should have been suspicious, but she couldn't seem to bring herself to care- she had other things on her mind at the moment.

The most prominent of those things? A certain green-eyed, messy-haired young man. As of late, every time she thought of him, she would involuntarily blush. Every time he looked at her, her knees would get weak. Every time they studied together, she would find herself staring at him more then the textbook. Every time he was accosted by one of her female schoolmates, she would get angry for no apparent reason. Oh, and let's not forget the fact that getting a present from Harry had made her feel gloriously happy, so much so that, for the entire time during her own birthday party, all she could think about was how he wasn't there!

It was driving her insane! He was her best friend (she wasn't sure just when she had started thinking of him in that way, but there it was), so why was she acting like this? She was supposed to be like this with Keitaro-_sempai_, and Keitaro-_sempai_ only! Yes, that's right: she knew what her actions meant, or were supposed to mean- she was falling for Harry Potter.

But that wasn't supposed to happen! Sure, Harry was handsome, what with his emerald-green eyes, his adorably messy hair in a roguish ponytail, his extremely fit body… hell, who was she kidding? He was hot. There was no way she could deny that.

Then there were his other features, like his cute naïveté, his confidence, his kindness, his knowledge, his thoughtfulness… he was, essentially, perfect boyfriend material. But that didn't matter, because she was supposed to be in love with Keitaro-_sempai_, not with her BEST FRIEND!!!

…Right?

OoOoO

Su cackled in glee as she finished her latest invention: the Nano-Mecha-Spy 1.0! It had taken her three straight days of hammering, welding, and nailing, all while working out a completely new design from scratch (what could she say? She was more of a "build-them-big-build-them-mean" kind of girl, so she'd had no working experience with nanotechnology). She had probably had four hours of sleep total in that time.

But it was worth it, because now her thirst for knowledge would finally be satisfied- she would finally see for herself (kinda) just who this boy was! All she had to do was plant the little nanobot on Shinobu's jacket and, when she arrived at the guy's house, make it drop and scurry to a corner to hide. It was perfect! Chuckling gleefully (or evilly, though it was all the same to her) at yet another job well done, Su palmed her invention and made to get ready.

OoOoO

After bidding Shinobu farewell for the day, Harry closed the door… and promptly collapsed back first. He sighed; something strange was happening to him whenever he was with- or even just thinking of- Shinobu nowadays, and it was confusing and scaring him. He would feel his heart flutter whenever she smiled or laughed, and a slight pain would pierce his chest when she left, like just now.

He was also beginning to notice things about her that he never really did before; for the first time in the month he had known her, he realized that she was rather pretty, with her slender and petite figure, short, dark-blue, almost-black hair, and big, dark-blue eyes (a bit lighter then her hair) set in a cute, heart-shaped face. This bothered him immensely because he was usually a rather observant person, as two years on the run from vampires and lycan would make anyone who wanted to survive.

Then there were the daydreams. He didn't know why, but recently he had been spacing out in class, daydreaming of Shinobu and married life, usually in a scenario where they had kids and a small house in suburbia. It scared the living hell out of him whenever it happened, which was often.

But those wasn't what scared him the most. What scared him the most was that his thoughts kept on going back to the innocent kiss she gave him on the cheek that rainy night. Every night, when he fell asleep, he would be back on those stairs, handing Shinobu the umbrella. But the kiss wouldn't be shy and on the cheek, but on the lips and passionate. He was beginning to think of them as worst then the nightmares he had had the first few months with Selene and Michael, simply because he had no idea what to make of it.

Over all, he was scared. Scared of his emotions, scared of his reactions… and, most of all, scared for his grip on sanity.

But there was nothing he could do about it short of not seeing Shinobu anymore, and he had a feeling that would most likely only worsen it. So, with nothing better to do, he summoned Thanifex and set himself to a hard workout, hoping to tire out the dreams and rampant emotions.

He never noticed the microbe-sized, turtle-shaped spybot sitting on the coffee table.

OoOoO

Su sat in shock, staring at the blank screen that once showed the feed from the now self-destructed Nano-Mecha-Spy 1.0. What she had just seen had her scared beyond all words. Why? Because Shinobu's boyfriend was a monster. A true-to-life, old-American-horror-flick monster.

At first, it hadn't been that bad: As soon as Shinobu left, her boyfriend leaned against the door and sighed. His position had allowed Su a good view of him, and she had definitely liked what she saw.

But then things got weird: a pure black spear of some kind had appeared in his hands from THIN AIR, and he proceeded to weave it through some strange kata with speed, control, and grace that wasn't humanly possible. This was then repeated with a scythe and an impractically big, crimson and silver sword (in the same design and size as the buster blade of Final Fantasy VII fame). The last he had, impossibly, wielded with one hand.

Then he had strapped large steel claws to his hands, and things took a horrifying turn. His skin had started blackening and his face _shifted_, until it was reminiscent of some kind of canine. His muscle mass then increased, and his eyes became completely black- there was no sclera, no pupil, no iris, only a cold, evil black. Before long there was a monster standing where a handsome boy had been moments before. He started a series of punches, kicks, jumps, and rolls that quickly became too fast for the Nano-Mecha-Spy 1.0 to follow.

The last straw though, was when the monster, sweating heavily now, morphed back into his human form and made his way to the kitchen, where he proceeded to take out what was obviously a packet of BLOOD from the refrigerator and started to gulp it down as if it were water. This was when Su, in a state of shock, activated the Nano-Mecha-Spy 1.0's self-destruct.

Too scared to think straight, she opted to crawl beneath the covers of her bed and try and sleep, praying that she would wake up to find that it was all a nightmare. Unfortunately, sleep was long in coming, and the nightmares that plagued it- of blood-soaked halls that used to be warm and friendly, and mangled bodies that had once been friends- made her wish she had stayed awake.

A/N: While I was rewriting this chapter, I realized that I had gotten Michael Corvin's- and so by extension Harry's- hybrid form wrong. Apparently, it only vaguely looks canine, and the face doesn't exactly elongate… well, not enough to form a snout, at any rate. Good thing that form hasn't made many appearances as of yet, huh?

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	18. Chapter 17: Kiss and Tell

A/N: Sorry for taking so long. It's the end of Fall Quarter, and I've got this crap-load of essays and stuff to work on. Sigh. Thankfully, Winter Break is around the corner, so I should be able to get more chapters out… or maybe not, since I have this bad habit of spending any break of more then three or four days playing games. So there's a chance that instead of working on the next chapter, I'll be playing _Hoshigami_ or some FPS. I'm a bad, bad boy…

Disclaimer: I don't _Love Hina_ and… well, that's the only series this chapter features, so I'll leave the rest. Besides, I think I'm beginning to sound like a broken record: I don't own this… I don't own this… I don't own this… I don't- (Insert "Sound of shotgun firing and record player blowing up" here).

Chapter 17: Kiss and Tell

It had been some time after Kitsune told the girls Shinobu's "dirty little secret", and they were all just bursting at the seams to confront the bluette about it. But none of them wanted to ask her first, so, without anyone making the first move, they just let the curiosity (and worry, in the cases of Naru, Motoko, and- though nobody knew it- Su) boil to dangerous levels.

It all came to a head the Friday night after the attic meeting, when Naru finally had enough of the nonsense. She had been trying to do her homework, but, as was the case for the last couple days, the thought of Shinobu being taken advantage of kept invading her mind. Finally, she cracked; she just couldn't take it anymore!

She slammed her book shut, got up from her desk, and loudly stomped her way to the kitchen, where Shinobu was currently cooking dinner. The others, on hearing Naru stomp past, instinctively knew that it was time, and quickly followed their auburn-haired, stand-in landlady. When Naru arrived at the kitchen, it was with all the girls looking on… except Su, who was suspiciously missing…

"Shinobu? We need to talk," Naru said. The younger girl froze for a moment before turning around and facing the group.

"Yes, Naru-_sempai_?" She asked. She started fiddling with her apron, a sure sign that she was nervous.

"We know you have a boyfriend," Naru accused.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh yes you do, kiddo! We're talking about that green-eyed hottie whose apartment you always go to!" Kitsune said. The others turned to her.

"Kitsune… you never mentioned that little tidbit of information…" Naru ground out, glaring at the older woman. The rest of the group joined in.

"Err… whoops?" Kitsune squeaked. She blushed and cowered away from the death glares received (the only exception was Mutsumi, who was too kind to glare. She WAS frowning, though, which was almost just as bad).

"How did you guys find out about Harry?" Shinobu asked, probably saving Kitsune's life.

"His name is Harry?" Sarah asked, curious.

"Yes. Harry Potter. He's from England."

"He's _gaijin_?" Motoko asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. Now, how did you find out about him? I'm sure I never mentioned him." Shinobu was glaring in anger now, a sight that had the whole group cringing in fear; for her to glare like that, she had to be PISSED. But they stood firm, telling themselves that this needed to be done.

…Didn't stop them from silently praying for deliverance, though. Really, a mad Shinobu was a lot scarier then it had any right being!

"Well," Kitsune began. She gulped in fear when the girl's glare was turned to her, but continued, "I started noticing you acting weird a month ago, and I got curious. I followed you to his apartment, saw you two walk in, came back here as fast as I could, and told the girls because… well… I- and the rest of the girls, here- was worried for you. I mean, you're like a little sister to us, and we all don't want to see you hurt, you know?" She cringed slightly as she finished, preparing herself for the coming tirade. She was slightly surprised when it never came.

Shinobu's eyes turned from cold fury back to its usual warmth, though it was a little less then before. But it was still warmth, so there was a general relaxing of fear-seized muscles around group. "Oh, Kitsune… why didn't you just ask?"

"Because you probably wouldn't have given me a straight answer. After all, you WERE hiding him."

"Yeah… that's probably true… and for your information, he's just my friend and study partner, nothing more."

Kitsune scoffed. "Yeah, that's what they all say."

"It's true!"

"Then why were you hiding him?"

"Because he's also the most sought-after boy in the school-"

"I can see why," Kitsune muttered. Either everybody ignored her, or nobody heard her. Personally, she doubted the latter.

"-Which, if our friendship were to ever be made public, would make my life very, VERY hard."

The group of interrogators were silent for a moment, before Sarah piped, "You're kidding, right?"

Shinobu shook her head. "Nope. If they were to ever find out I was his friend, they would either mob me with questions, kill me because I'm a possible threat to their chances, or, with some of the senior girls, both."

"…Whoa," was all Sarah could say.

"So, this… Harry Potter… isn't your boyfriend?" Naru asked, stumbling a little over the foreign name.

"Yes, Naru-_sempai_. He's just a friend and study partner, and that's it. I only go to his home because it's so much nicer then the library, and we can cook there, since he knows how to cook."

"Oh…!" the group said as one.

After a moment of awkward silence, Sarah whined, "Man, what a let down!"

"Not really! Now we get to know what he's like! Details, Shinobu!" Mutsumi bubbled, before giggling that slightly demonic giggle of hers. The others, long used to this, voiced their agreement and begged her until she caved.

"Fine, fine… what do you guys want to know?"

"What's he like?" "Does he have a job?" "How old is he?" Does he live alone?" The assault of questions came in fast, and she waved her hands to hold them at bay.

"Wait! Wait!" Shinobu shouted over the clamor until the people quieted down. "Better! I told you all already that he's from England. He has green-eyes and messy black hair that's down to his shoulder, so he has to tie it off in a ponytail. He's incredibly smart, really athletic… umm… Oh! I though he was a bit older when we first met, because he has this way of carrying himself that… well, I can't really explain it. Normally he seems so…mature, and it's disorienting, sometimes, when we're alone and he relaxes. I swear, it's like he drops a mask or something, and he's suddenly this sweet, funny, and slightly clueless boy who had no idea what high school life is like… he still doesn't, actually. But I don't mind, because it's so adorable!" She took a moment to giggle at the thought.

"Now, where was I…? Oh yes! He's really nice and thoughtful, and he has the most amazing memory! Did you know he remembered my birthday, even though I only mentioned it once the week we met? Once! I couldn't believe it when he gave me a pair of earrings… the pair I'm wearing right now, as a matter of fact." She gestured to her ears as she said this, and for the first time the girls noticed they were now adorned with studs of what looked like small amethysts. Even Kitsune had missed it, since it blended in with her hair so well.

"Umm… what else was there…? He cooks! Oh, he's amazing! He knows so many recipes! He actually thought me some of the stuff I've been making for dinner this last month."

"Yeah, we figured as much. It was actually one of the clues that tipped Kitsune off," Naru said.

Shinobu just nodded, not really sure how to respond to that. She continued, "He lives with his parents, Selene and Michael. They're really nice, though I've only met them once or twice- Selene's a policewoman who works the nightshift at the local department, and Michael is a professor of Cardiovascular Pathology at Tokyo University. Oh! Mutsumi! You take that class, right? You should know him!"

Mutsumi blinked, then clapped her hands as she recognized just who it was Shinobu was talking about. "Ah yes! I was wondering why Harry's family name sounded so familiar! Professor Potter is one of my favorite teachers! He's such a wonderful teacher- so funny!" She giggled.

"Is there anything else you guys wanted to know?" Shinobu asked.

The group murmured among themselves before shaking their heads. "We were just worried, Shinobu-_chan_," Naru said, "For all we knew, this guy could have been taking advantage of you, you know?"

"And if he does in the future, you will tell us, won't you?" Motoko asked. Shinobu nodded, though she doubted she would ever need to.

They all went their separate ways after that, satisfied- though not exactly thrilled in the case of Naru and Motoko- with the presence of this new boy in Shinobu's life.

OoOoO

Su watched from her computer monitor as the other's dispersed, not aware that their wayward fellow tenant had been present via a hidden camera that she had installed a long time ago. At the time it had just been for the hell of it, but now it was coming in handy

She frowned as she mulled over Shinobu's words. She had read up on vampires as much as possible, and by the way her friend was so smitten with that monster, she could only assume she was either under its thrall, or near it.

There were also two others with it, posing as his parents. Not very likely for a vampire, so they had to be either two more of its brethren, or thralls who were unfortunate enough encounter it. That meant that it was either really powerful, or it had back-up. Not good, since this would make what she had to do exponentially harder.

Su had spent the last couple days thinking, and had finally come to a conclusion. The monster was a danger to Shinobu, who obviously had no idea what kind of situation she was in. Though it pained her to think of her friend in such terms, the younger girl was now a path for the monster, one it would no doubt exploit soon enough. If that were to happen, then she was sure her nightmares would come true.

So it fell to her, Kaolla Su, princess of the Kingdom of Molmol, to save everyone.

It was up to her to kill the monster.

A/N: Whoa… serious Su is seriously creepy… Ahem. I know: bad pun. Sorry. But seriously, though- Gah! I did it again!- Su's getting ready to declare war on Harry and his family. A little dark, but I swear to God it ends well, so stay with me!

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	19. Chapter 18: Recruitment

A/N: Finals are over! Huzzah! Now I can finally start REALLY working on this story, in the hopes that I can post the Christmas Special I have on time. Wish me luck!

Disclaimer: I don't own _Love Hina_. Or Harry Potter. Or anything. This sucks.

Chapter 18: Recruitment

Su hadn't been out of her room in nearly three days, and it was really beginning to worry Motoko. She hadn't come out for meals, she hadn't come out for school, she hadn't come out for ANYTHING, and it was beginning to frighten the swordswoman. This behavior was not natural; Su didn't do this even if she was working on a massive project!

Though they were close friends with everyone at Hinata House, the two of them were closer with each other then with the other girls. Saying so, it was no surprise when Motoko soon found that she couldn't ignore the worry anymore. Unable to concentrate on her katas anymore, she decided to stop her kendo practice for the day and check in on the blond girl.

She soon found herself standing before the door to Su's room, which she wasted no time in knocking. "Su! It's Motoko! Is something wrong in there?"

No answer.

Now beginning to really worry, she knocked again, this time harder. "Su! Open the door!"

Silence.

"SU!!!" Knocking had become outright banging.

Still there was no answer.

Now bordering on the edge of hysteria, Motoko, bokken still in hand, took a stance, ready to bring the door down and rush in. She was raising her sword when the door finally opened.

Motoko had expected many things to happen at this point: Su to spring some kind of booby trap, Su to show her latest invention, Su to say that she had over slept, etc. What she didn't expect was a totally serious and paranoid looking Su that looked around before reaching out and, with more strength then Motoko thought she could possibly possess, dragging her into the room without a word.

"Good timing, Motoko," Su said as soon as they were in the room, with the doors locked and several of what Motoko had recognized as anti-bug scans going. "I was just about to get you. I need your help."

Motoko just blinked; she had never known Su to ask for any kind of help before. The moment of relief she had experienced when she saw that Su was alright was immediately replaced by worry again. "Okay… what do you need me for?"

In response, Su just pointed to a computer monitor. "Go to the file marked "Surveillance" and watch the clip."

Not knowing what else to do, Motoko complied.

When the clip started, it showed a rather handsome young man leaning against a door, apparently thinking about something. Motoko was about to ask Su what this was supposed to be when the boy got off the door and a pure black great spear appeared in his hands. The boy then proceeded to do some katas at a blurring speed, followed by another set of katas for a giant red sword and a scythe. Motoko was impressed; this man had skills!

Thinking it probably Su's crush or something, and had decided to ask her for advice, she was about to turn to Su when something caught her eye. The man had stopped, and was starting to strap on metal claws to his hands. The admiration (and, though she didn't want to admit it, envy) she was feeling for the man's skills faded when the man's skin started turning black, and he started _changing_ into something she could only describe as unnatural. After the transformation, the… thing started moving again, going through what seemed to be kata faster then the recording device could handle.

It was several minutes before the beast stopped and turned back into a man. Obviously sweating, it went to the refrigerator, where he pulled out a bag full of some red liquid. He quickly gulped it down as if it was water, and the screen went dark.

"The liquid inside the pouch is blood. The guy is Shinobu's boyfriend," Su said.

"B-blood…? As in, BLOOD, blood?" was all Motoko could get out, nearly scared out of her wits.

"Yes. The pouch is only used for IV fluids or blood, and IV fluids are usually clear. I think there's a good chance that it is a vampire, and so a danger to Shinobu. I intend to fix that."

Mounting dread built up in Motoko. When Su had said that last sentence, it had been cold and ruthless, with no mercy anywhere in it. It was so far removed from her usual bubbly attitude that shock didn't even begin to describe it. "What are you going to do?" she asked.

"I'm going to kill him. And I need you to help me."

"Wha-? Why?"

"Because, though you're just a priestess-in-training, you still know some holy spells, which would be useful in dealing with such a creature… that, and you have those talismans that keep people away. If the police come by while we do our job, he can easily manipulate the police so that we're arrested instead."

"Wait! How did you know about my talismans? I've never told anyone about them!"

"You are studying to be an exorcism specialist, right? I know the talismans are standard issue, even for a trainee."

While Su was talking, Motoko noticed the invention that the genius had been working on the entire time, and was just finishing up. It looked like some strange, futuristic cross between a shotgun and a sniper rifle, with a silver coating and a glowing purple cylinder at the base of the long double-barrel.

Su welded the last piece on and, seeing Motoko staring at it with wide eyes, hefted the fearsome weapon in her hands. "This is my UV Cannon. It shoots out high-intensity ultraviolet lasers instead of the standard bullet, which means one shot is going to kill him, guaranteed. Unfortunately, it needs to be reloaded after one shot, and if I miss, it leaves me vulnerable.

"Which brings me to why I need your help: I'm pretty sure the two people with him who are posing as his parents are either vampires or under his thrall. If they're with him when I attack, I'll need you to cover me while I reload. If you can kill or seriously injure them, all the better, but he must die either way, Motoko. If he doesn't, the moment he thinks its right, he will either kill Shinobu or put her in his thrall –if he hasn't already- and use her to go after us, since we're all still virgins… well, except Haruka and maybe Kitsune, whom he'll kill, no question, since turning a non-virgin will give him a mindless ghoul that won't last very long, which he probably doesn't want."

Afraid of the answer, but curious all the same, Motoko asked with some trepidation, "And if he WANTS mindless ghouls?"

Su looked thoughtful for a moment, before answering in a scarily matter-of-fact way, "Then he'll probably rape us before he turns us."

She then looked to Motoko, and her eyes were hard and determined. "Well, what will it be, Motoko? Will you help? If you don't, I might have to put this off for a few days, in which then he could strike. If he strikes, there WILL be casualties."

Motoko froze. What was she going to do? She hadn't been trained to take down a vampire yet! But the picture Su was painting…

He mind started giving her images… images of innocent little Shinobu's horror filled eyes as she was being raped, then drained of her blood, before having her body defiled even further as it was raised as a mindless zombie. Then it was Su, Mutsumi, Sarah, Kitsune, Naru… until the halls of Hinata House were awash with the blood of its former residents…

Her dark thoughts on the future made the decision for her. Motoko's eyes became cold, and she nodded. "When will we be attacking?"

"Now; since it's almost the end of classes, we can get him while he's still disguising himself, and so relatively hindered. As a plus, Shinobu will most likely be with him, so we can show her just what kind of monster he really is." Su cocked her gun, and a soft whirling started. "Go get the stuff we're going to need, and meet me in the lobby. We've got a friend to save, and a monster to kill."

A/N: Wow… such a short chapter… but now Su and Motoko are on the warpath! Harry will survive, but will they? Will this situation be resolved anytime soon? And after this fiasco's over, a much beloved character will show up. A cookie to anybody who can guess who it is!

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	20. Chapter 19: Confrontation

A/N: Su and Motoko VS Harry! Who's going to win? Well, I've already said that the victor will be Harry, but how badly will the girls be defeated? Will Harry be able to convince them that he's a good guy? What will Shinobu do when she finds out about Harry's… unique physiology? This is actually part one of the Su/Motoko/Harry resolution.

Disclaimer: The only thing I own is Su's high-intensity UV laser rifle (and maybe not even that...). It would be so cool if I had one…

Chapter 19: Confrontation

"So, what do you plan on doing today?" Shinobu asked Harry as they walked to the bus stop, from which they would get a ride to his apartment. School had just ended for the week, and the teachers had been kind enough to not assign homework for the weekend.

"Well… I was hoping you can try something for me. It's this strange banana pie recipe I found online."

"Sure! You know I will, though I must ask why you don't just try it yourself," Shinobu said.

"I am my worst critic, and so might find some imaginary defect with it." Harry gave her a grin.

"That's your excuse all the time. You know, if you don't mind, can I have the recipe, too? I have this friend back at Hinata that just loves everything having to do with bananas!"

"You know, you never really talk about your dorm mates, Shinobu. What are they like?"

Shinobu blinked. "I've never told you about them?"

Harry cocked his head, as if trying to remember something. "Well, there was that time when you first came to my place. I think you said one of them would raze the city looking for you, and another two would castrate me once they found you with me. Besides that and my father's student, though…"

"Wah!! Sorry, Harry! I can't believe I wouldn't tell you about some of my other friends! I mean, I told them about you… kinda."

"That's alright. We all forget things every once in a while… and how do you kinda tell them about me? If you did, you did, and if you didn't, you didn't."

"Actually, one of them, Kitsune, tailed us, then snitched to the rest of them. They ganged up on me a few days ago. You know, they thought you were my boyfriend," Shinobu said, then immediately blushed as she realized what she had just said. She was still trying to sort out her feelings, and a reminder about why wasn't what she needed right now. She eyed Harry nervously, and was surprised to find him blushing to. 'Great… more things to think about…' she thought to herself, mentally groaning at the though of more introspection.

They walked in an embarrassed silence for a bit before Harry cleared his throat and said, "So… tell me about your dorm mates."

Glad for a change in subject, Shinobu enthusiastically launched into a description of each of the Hinata House's residents. "There are seven of us, including me. The youngest, Sarah, is ten years old and from America. She was adopted by Seta-sensei when her mother died. She's pretty mature for her age, and kinda tomboyish.

"The second youngest is me, and right after that is Kaolla Su, who's a year older then me and from… well, none of us really know where she's from, but she's got blond hair and tan skin, and seems really carefree. She's the friend I told you about at first, the one who likes bananas… though she'd eat just about anything. She's also a mad scientist, and seems to spend most of her inventive power into developing weapons of mass destruction or a mech to capture Tama-chan, our pet turtle. Strangest thing is, despite the fact that the mechs are unusually advanced, Tama-chan can usually outwit it. I guess she'd have to, since the only reason why Su wants Tama-chan is because she wants to eat her.

"The fourth youngest is Aoyama Motoko. She's eighteen right now, and I think she's from Kyoto. She's an incredible swordswoman, and an exorcist-in-training. Scary thing is, she has a sister who's way better then her! I mean, Motoko can pulverize stone and somehow call lightning, but her sister makes her look like a novice. A novice! I can't even imagine what SHE could do at full strength!

"After that is-"

"Whoa whoa whoa!!!" Harry interrupted her, stepping in her way to look her in the eyes. Shinobu felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks as she looked into those twin emerald-green pools. "You're telling me that one of your dorm mates can pulverize stone?"

Shinobu nodded.

"And call down lightning?"

She nodded again.

"LIGHTNING?!?"

"Look, I have no idea how she does it, but believe me, she can."

"…"

"Harry?"

"That's… incredible! I'll love to meet her one of these days!" Harry said, grinning and hopping in excitement. He then caught himself as Shinobu giggled at his antics, and immediately stopped, blushing. "Ahem. Err… carry on. I think you were on whoever was next after… Aoyama, was it?"

She stopped giggling, but still had a smile on her face. They started walking again as Shinobu continued. "Right. After her is Narusegawa Naru, who's twenty and a sophomore at Tokyo University. She's a natural red-head, despite being a native here also, and is actually incredibly smart. I think she placed-"

Harry interrupted her again, but this time it was with a raised finger, as if telling her to be quiet. His body was tensed as he started looking around suspiciously.

"Harry?" Shinobu asked, worried. She had never seen Harry so… she didn't have a word for it, but 'alert' came close.

"Is it just me, or is this street suddenly very, very empty?" he muttered, letting out an almost animalistic growl.

"Huh?" Shinobu looked at him, confused. She looked around, and noticed that the street was indeed suspiciously devoid of all life.

Suddenly, he dove at her and pushed her to the ground. She was about to shout at him when there was a sizzle of burning air, followed by a sharp crack as the bit of pavement where Harry previously stood exploded upwards in a small geyser of dirt and cement.

"What the-?" Shinobu whispered before Harry picked her up again, only to push her to the ground and leap the other way as his previous position went up in a dirt fountain.

"RUN!!!" Harry shouted, fear etched on his face. Shinobu, confused and terrified, stayed where she was on the ground.

"SHINOBU! I SAID-"

"THUNDER BLADE!!!"

Harry dodged again as this time a bolt of lightning vaporized the cement he had just been standing on. Shinobu couldn't believe her ears. It couldn't be…

As if on cue, Motoko appeared in her Shinto priestess uniform, charging at Harry with her sword in a striking position. Harry stepped back and, to Shinobu's surprise, seemed to grab a pure black great spear from thin air. He blocked Motoko's attack, and then proceeded to skillfully parry every attack after that. Eventually, Motoko was forced to retreat outside of his attack range, which was pretty far due to the length of his spear.

"You know, it's rather rude to just attack people like that," Harry said, glaring at the swordswoman.

"Monsters such as you deserve no courtesy! ADVANCED CUTTING AIR SPARK!!!" Harry dodged the ki blade that ripped apart his previous position. He looked taken aback.

"Monster? The hell?" he asked, confusion evident on his face.

The cocking of a gun and the whine of something powering up sounded from behind him, and he froze. "Yes, monster. You know, as in vampire?" Su said as she stepped up behind him, her UV Cannon trained at his heart.

Shinobu was expecting Harry to vehemently deny the outrages claim, but to her shock, he turned side ways to look at the blond girl and grinned. "How did you guess? Wait, don't answer. You'll probably give me this super scientific answer which I probably wouldn't understand, seeing as how you ARE a mad scientist… right, Kaolla Su?"

Su's eyes bugged. "How did you…?"

"Yeah… it's the damnedest thing: Shinobu was telling me about you girls just now." He turned his gaze at Motoko, who was still in a ready stance, waiting for an opening. "She had just finished you, Aoyama Motoko. She told me you could call down lightning in your strikes, and it seems she wasn't exaggerating in the very least. I was actually hoping to meet you, and it seems I did. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, ma'am." He nodded to the swordswoman, who looked shocked for a moment, before just giving him a glare. He just shrugged it off and turned back to Su. "So, why are you attacking me again?"

Su, who was rather thrown by his conversational tone, had to blink before she remembered what she was doing. She quickly realigned her gun with Harry's chest. "You are a threat to Shinobu, Hinata House, and the community. You must die," she said, her voice cold.

"And what makes you think that? I'm a vampire, sure… kinda, but I don't mean anyone any harm, especially my best friend."

"You lie."

"If I was, the three of you would already be dead. Observe."

Harry suddenly… shifted right in front of Motoko. Before the swordswoman could react, he had knocked her blade out of her hand, then followed through by smacking her temple with the other end of the great spear, knocking her unconscious. Before her now-limp form could fall to the ground, Harry was in front of Su, swinging the great spear in a downward arc. The blonde screamed in fear and only got one shot off before the barrel of her gun was sliced off. In the end, Harry had the tip of his great spear an inch from her face, not flinching at the sounds of Motoko and the gun barrel falling to the ground at the same time. Shinobu, who was shocked beyond all possible belief, barely registered that it had seemed like Harry had been in two places at once for a second.

He withdrew the blade, and the great spear disappeared in his hands. "See? Told you… though that shot kinda stung…" Harry said, using one hand to rub at the slight burn on his chest through the hole in his clothes.

"Wh-what the hell…?" Su got out before fainting dead away.

Harry blinked, before turning to the still shocked Shinobu. "Sorry I didn't tell you earlier," he said sheepishly, "but keeping my nature secret has become second nature to me." He frowned sadly and continued, "I hope you understand."

Shinobu just stared at him, trying to comprehend the fact that her best friend had just moved at inhuman speeds and took a laser bolt to the chest with only a light burn. Her brain couldn't handle all the information streaming into it at once, and so did the only thing it could: it shut down. Shinobu promptly blacked out.

A/N: Part two of the Su/Motoko/Harry resolution is coming up soon! How will the three handle the truth behind Harry Potter? How will the rest of the Hinata gang, when they find out (which they most definitely will)? And I'm still waiting for answers to the question I posed last chapter. Remember: anyone who answers correctly gets a cookie! Also, an extra cookie to anyone who guesses correctly the identity of the spirit of Hina!

Don't forget to review!


	21. Chapter 20: Reaching an Understanding

A/N: Part two of the Su/Motoko/Harry resolution. For all you Su fans (are there even any _Love Hina_ fans in general reading this?), our favorite mad scientist will be back to her slightly-crazy self soon enough, so no worries! Also, to those that have given me their guesses as to whom the spirit of Hina is and who from the Wizarding World will find their way to Hinata House: nice try, but no. The guess for the latter was close, though. You still got two more chapters to guess the spirit of Hina, and three more to guess the identity of the magic user. Good luck!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I'm so pathetic. I think I'll go hang myself now… ((Pulls out hangman's noose from nowhere and walks off))

Chapter 20: Reaching an Understanding

Harry sighed as he looked him at the unconscious forms of Shinobu and his attackers. There went his day. And it had been going so well, too…

"What the hell am I going to do with them…?" he wondered to himself. _Rennervate_ only worked on those that had been knocked-out by magical means, so that was out. There weren't any other ways to magically wake someone up, so that just left the natural way. But how to go about that?

Shinobu was easy- take her to his apartment, lay her down, and wait for her to wake up. But Su and Aoyama though… they had just tried to kill him, and even though he had spoken quite civilly to them, he wasn't exactly happy with the two girls. He was tempted to just leave them there and let them wake up by themselves, but his conscience- which had started sounding suspiciously like Shinobu in the past two weeks- wouldn't let him.

Deciding he couldn't very well leave them, he waved his hands slightly- a spellcasting handicap he never quite got over- and in seconds the three girls were hovering a good three feet off the ground.

He looked at Shinobu, and for a moment of spontaneity, noticed how cute she looked when she was asleep. He blushed and quickly shook those thoughts away. He turned his gaze unto the other two girls instead, and was struck with the startling realization that if this had been several months ago, he would have left them on the street and not thought twice about it. But now, here he was, helping them out also just because he thought Shinobu wouldn't have liked it. He looked over to Shinobu's unconscious form again and sighed.

"Damn it, Shinobu, but I think you're making me go soft…" he muttered. As an afterthought, he smiled softly and added, "…And I don't mind a bit…"

He quickly went over to a nearby shadow, and, channeling the Darkness for a moment, melted into it, taking the three bodies with him.

He and his burden instantly arrived in his room's walk-in closet. A flick of his wrist opened the door, and a wave of his hand gently moved them to his bed and lowered them down onto it. When he was sure none of them were going to fall off, he quickly exchanged his burnt shirt for a new one, not bothering to change outside the room because he knew the girls were going to be out of it for a while yet.

A glance at the ruined shirt had him remembering just what had ruined it in the first place. He was still amazed that the petite blond girl had a gun that seemed to fire bolts of ultraviolet light. Where had she gotten it? Or maybe she had built it herself, if Shinobu wasn't exaggerating when she called Su a mad scientist. Of course, this brought up the question of why, if she'd been a genius, she hadn't caught the little detail of him walking around during the daytime, which made a UV laser gun kind of redundant.

'I'll ask her that later,' he thought to himself as he checked them over for any injuries. He winched when he came to the goose egg he had given Aoyama when he disabled her; even before coming to Japan he had never liked seeing a girl hurt, especially if he was the one who had inflicted the pain. He quickly channeled some of his Darkness again, this time forming it into a small ball of light that glowed a soft and comfortable violet in his hand. He pressed it into Aoyama's bruise, and the goose egg quickly disappeared, leaving a brief purple afterglow that signified the end of the _Moonlit Night_ spell.

He studied the unconscious forms of his two attackers. Thinking back, he wasn't sure disabling them the way he had was really the best idea, since in their state of mind they would probably come to the conclusion that he had purposely knocked them out to kidnap them for some dark purpose or another. Unfortunately, he hadn't been allowed to bring a time-turner on this mission, so he couldn't change that.

'What am I going to tell them…?" he thought to himself. He looked at their rather peaceful sleeping faces, and his gaze came to Shinobu. He sighed. 'What am I going to tell Shinobu…?' he thought mournfully. Surely she would want to break off all ties to him now.

His heart clenched painfully at the thought.

OoOoO

Shinobu slowly woke, reeling from a rather disturbing dream she had. It had been about Harry, which was no surprise, because as of late she'd been having some rather… err… _private_ dreams that she was going to take the contents of to her grave. But unlike the usual dreams, this dream featured him fighting and winning against Motoko and Su, who had attacked him for being a vampire. The strangest thing though was that even after being held at gun point by Su (the gun had been oddly shiny), he had been rather pleasant.

'How absurd!' she thought to herself, 'Harry! A Vampire! Like that's even possible… though he does have the looks for one… tall, darkly handsome… gah! No Shinobu! Bad Shinobu! Bad!' she groaned and rolled over in an attempt to banish her rather traitorous thoughts… only to bump into another body. Her eyes snapped open to see an unconscious Su in army fatigues rather then her usually pajamas. It took her a few moments to notice that said army fatigues were the same from her dream. Faced with such a realization, Shinobu's mind took the most logical route: she started freaking out while simultaneously attempting to convince herself of anything other then the most obvious conclusion.

'No! That's impossible! She must have changed pajamas and accidentally snuck into my room instead of Motoko's!' she frantically thought to herself as she turned to her other side… to see Motoko in her priestess robes, also unconscious. It took her a moment to register that Motoko was also in the same outfit she'd been wearing in the dream. When she did, she did the only thing she could think off: she screamed… loud.

Motoko was instantly alert, springing from the bed and reaching for her sword, only to find nothing there. Su woke more slowly, muttering something about banana pancakes before realizing she was in a different room. As soon as she did, she sprang up, too.

"Shinobu! Are you alright?" Motoko asked, checking her over.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Shinobu shouted instead of replying.

"Well, I kinda put you three in the same bed. Sorry 'bout that," said a sheepish Harry, leaning against the doorjamb. He had rushed to the room as soon as he head Shinobu scream.

"VAMPIRE!!!" Su and Motoko shouted, placing Shinobu behind them and backing themselves into a corner.

"What?! No he isn't!" Shinobu frantically shouted at them. She was still trying to convince herself that her dream had been just that, and was losing badly.

"Err… actually, I am, Shinobu… kinda," Harry said, pulling back a corner of his mouth and showing them a longer-than-natural canine. "I must apologize for keeping this from you, but… well, I didn't want to scare," he finished lamely, looking guiltily down on the floor.

Shinobu remained silent for a moment, looking at the young man she thought she knew. She was surprised to find that she didn't feel anger towards Harry, nor resentment that he had hidden this from her; all she felt was curiosity in regards to what the real story was, and maybe the slightest bit of resentment, which she brushed away. Maybe this was because despite keeping a secret from her during all this time, he had always been genuine in his actions. Or maybe it was because she had just seen the results of if he had been truthful, seeing as how two of her friends had recently tried to kill him.

"Shinobu?" Harry ventured tentatively, chancing a glance at her.

"What else did you hide from me?" she asked, hoping it was not much.

"Selene is a Daywalker and Michael is a werewolf-vampire hybrid, like me. Both are not my parents, though Michael is my cousin from my real mother's side and Selene is his girlfriend. All three of us are not true vampires, even without the… variations. Our vampirism is actually caused by the mutation of something in us called the 'Corvinus Strain'. This also ties into why I can't try any of our cooking without spitting it out, since my metabolism can't take it. I never lied to you, though, because it's also true that I am my own worst critic, but that was just the next most reasonable excuse. Also, along with being a hybrid, I'm a wizard outcast."

"Were you ever going to tell me the truth, Harry?"

"Only some; if you had asked, I would have only told you half-truths."

Shinobu studied him. He looked miserable, and the usual aura of confidence he projected had been slowly dwindling until it was gone. He almost looked more like a lost child then the young man she knew he was. She didn't know much about… vampires (it was strange thinking of him as such now), but she didn't think that aura of resigned doom he was emitting could be faked. Taking a deep breath, she said "Harry, I think we- or at least I -need to hear your story from the beginning."

Harry nodded and took a seat on a chair. Shinobu sat down on the bed, followed by Su and Motoko after a moment of doubt.

"My story begins when I was fifteen months old. That night, my parents were murdered…"

OoOoO

"…And here we are." Harry finished. There was a moment of silence as Shinobu, Motoko, and Su absorbed the information they had just been given. She didn't know about the other two, but Shinobu was having a bit of trouble with that task. One couldn't blame her really; in the last half-hour, she had learned that the Harry she knew was a lie… well, it was actually more of a half-truth then an out-right lie; the Harry she knew was the tip of the proverbial iceberg, as it were.

She mentally recapped the story: When Harry was eighteen months old, his real parents were killed by a dark wizard with some funny name. He would have died too, but something, supposedly his mother's love, saved him and rebounded the "Killing Curse", the dark wizard's murder weapon of choice, back at the caster, throwing him from his body and leaving little Harry with nothing but a lightning-shaped scar. For this, Harry became a superstar in the wizarding world; he and his scar were known everywhere.

But then, Harry knew none of this as he grew up, because a man named Dumbledore (Harry had spat the word out like it was poison) had left him with his supposed last remaining relatives, Vernon and Petunia Dursley and their son, Dudley. They made sure to make his life miserable, making him do any and all chores around the house and were never really satisfied with the results, no matter how clean the floor was or how good the food tasted. This lasted for the first twelve-plus years of his life.

When he was eleven, he was admitted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in which Dumbledore was headmaster. There, he made new friends, helped save the world again from Voldywhatshisface twice, and started learning the ways of magic. He enjoyed it there, and would have stayed there the rest of his life if Dumbledore hadn't constantly insisted that he go back to the Dursleys.

That all came to an end after his second year (he had been twelve, thirteen in a month), when a man named Lucius Malfoy felt he had been shown up by Harry when the boy had freed his house elf (some kind of magical servant/slave) and destroy some kind of magical diary. As soon as school was out, the man attacked and practically killed Harry, leaving him by the side of a road to die alone.

This was when, as luck would have it, Selene the Daywalker (presently going by Selene Potter and working the night shift for the prefectural police) was walking by. Long story short, she brought the beaten Harry to the medically-trained vampire-werewolf hybrid (and her boyfriend) Michael Corvin, who, failing to save him using traditional methods, turned him, thus discovering that they were related because a hybrid could only turn one of his or her relatives.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on one's views on things), Michael and Selene were on the run from both the werewolf and vampire nations (which, confusingly enough, had no relation to any true werewolves or vampires) at the time, so for the next two years Harry ran along with them, learning how to fight, hide, run, and any skills needed for survival. It was around this time that he realized that his famous scar was gone, faded into a thin, pink line.

At the end of his two years, he found Caput Mortuum, the first in a series of four weapons collectively called the Dark Companions. The second Dark Companion, Thanifex, came some time later, brought by a man named Alucard (who used to be the mythical Count Dracula), who then brought them all to the headquarters of Hellsing Agency, a secret branch of the Protestant church founded to combat any kind of supernatural threat.

There, Harry was trained in the arts of something called Dark Psynergy and other ways to fight, even meeting and training under the four founders of his old magic school. The training had progressed until three months ago, when, on Harry's fifteenth birthday, he was made an official member of Hellsing Agency. His first mission was to find the third Dark Companion, which, according to their information, was in Japan.

It was at least five minutes before Su spoke. "I take it you want us to keep this between us?" she asked. Harry nodded in answer, and she continued, "Then in that case, you have my word, Potter-_san_."

Motoko turned to Su so fast that her neck gave an audible crick. She didn't seem to notice. "Su! Are you serious?!"

"Of course, Motoko."

"B-but… he's dangerous! He's a vampire, for goodness' sake!"

"Actually, I'm not a real vampire, if you forgot," Harry put in. They didn't pay him any mind.

"I agree, Motoko, but on the same token, he could have easily killed us back in that alley. Instead, he spared us. Hell, he didn't even drink from us!"

"So?"

"He had mercy on us, his enemies. He even went as far as to bring us home and let us rest in his bed. If he would do that for us, then Shinobu, his friend, will be safe from him."

"He kept secrets from her!"

"And you wouldn't have? Would you have told the world that you were a vampire?" Shinobu asked the older girl, making her first contribution to the conversation. Motoko did a good impression of a fish out of the water, opening and closing her mouth as she tried to say something, anything. Shinobu didn't let her, "Also, you've had some secrets too, you know. I mean, we didn't even know you had a sister until the Hina incident!"

Harry choked on air (though how he did was a mystery, since he technically didn't have to breath, being undead and all), and Shinobu quickly looked over, thinking something was wrong. Instead, he looked almost… excited. "Did you just say Hina?" he asked, almost impatiently.

"Err… yeah," Shinobu replied, uncertain.

He looked more excited. It suddenly occurred to her that he looked like he was about to solve some great mystery. "By any chance, would Hina be a sword?"

"Yes. You've heard of the Urashima family heirloom?" Motoko asked stiffly.

"It's a family heirloom?" Harry deflated and swore colorfully, though softly.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Shinobu asked, worried and a bit curious as to why he would know about this particular katana.

"…Remember me telling you girls about the four Dark Companions I have to find…?"

Su nodded. "You mentioned something like that, yes. You have already collected two out of four, correct? Caput Mortuum the scythe and Thanifex the great… spear..." a look of comprehension dawned on her face. "You're not saying…?"

Harry chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his neck. "Yep. The blade Hina is Companion number three."

There was a moment of silence as this sunk in. Su was the first to speak. "Well, it's cursed, so maybe Urashima will be willing to part with it. I'll be glad to see it out of Hinata House, certainly."

Harry perked up. "Really, Su-_san_? You think so?"

Su shrugged. "You've got a chance. A small chance, I'd admit, but it's a chance at least."

"Cool! Though… I should come over and check it out; maybe it's not the right one. I mean, there could very well be more then one sword named Hina out there, you know?"

Su nodded. "That would be best. I'm not sure we can even touch it if we had to bring it here anyway." She got up. "Well, it's getting rather late, so we better get back to the dorm." Shinobu got up, followed by a still frowning Motoko.

"Do you need a ride? Or an escort, girls?"

Su shook her head and smiled. "No, thank you, Harry-_san_. We'll be perfectly fine."

"Oh. Alright then. Good night, girls."

"Good night, Harry. See you tomorrow," Shinobu said as she followed Su and Motoko out the door of the apartment. She was just past the door when, for no reason she could think of, she turned around and said, "Oh, and Harry? Just because I know your secret doesn't mean we're not still friends, 'kay?"

The look of relief on his face made her heart flutter.

A/N: This chapter roughly marks the half-way mark for this story, so I tossed in a summary for those that were lost… that it helped me when writing this story was just a bonus… Next stop: the Dark Companion Hina!

Review!


	22. Chapter 21: Hina

A/N: Wow… nobody's figured out who the spirit of Hina is, yet. Strange, since I actually briefly mention him by name on my profile. Sigh. Anyways, in this chapter you'll finally see where Harry's wings (remember those?) come from. Obviously, Harry isn't your average vampire… hybrid status aside. Oh, and Su's back to normal! Yay!

Disclaimer: I do not own… you know what? I've already said this a million times before, so just go back to chapter one or something. This is pointless.

Chapter 21: Hina

The next morning, Harry found himself standing at the entrance of the Shinobu's inn-come-dormitory, holding a Banoffee pie (a peace offering, especially to Su, since he still wasn't sure about her) and more nervous then he'd ever been. He didn't know what was waiting past that door, whether it be a smiling Shinobu (or any of her other dorm mates) or armed soldiers that, though they wouldn't kill him, would seriously hurt him… not to mention he would have to kill (pure) humans for the first time ever… He shuddered. Deciding that he might as well get this over with, he rang the door bell.

It was several minutes before a young, red-haired woman opened the door. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he took notice that she was actually pretty cute, even with those coke-bottle glasses. An inexplicable sense of guilt filled him at that thought.

"Hi! Err… I'm Harry Potter, ma'am. I'm-" he began, but was interrupted by the redhead.

"Here to see Shinobu, I presume? We've heard much about you, Potter-_san_. I'm Narusegawa Naru, the stand-in landlady while our landlord is away."

"_Arigato_, Narusegawa-_san_, but I'm actually here to see Aoyama-_san_ today. I heard that she has a rather unique blade, and, since I have a bit of an obsession with swords of all kinds, was asked yesterday to come by and examine it. Of course, I wouldn't mind seeing Shinobu, too!" Harry said, lying relatively smoothly. He gave her his best disarming grin (toothless, of course, since showing his canines would have made the smile anything other then disarming) even as he felt sweat drip down his neck.

Harry was saved from making an utter fool of himself by Shinobu's appearance behind Narusegawa. He mentally sighed in relief and waved in greeting. "Hello, Shinobu! I'm here to see Hina."

Shinobu rolled her eyes, but the smile one her face told him she wasn't exactly exasperated. "Obviously. C'mon, Motoko's waiting in her room." She motioned for him to follow her and walked away.

Harry turned back to Narusegawa, who was frowning slightly. "Err… well… um…" lacking anything to say, he shoved the pie into the redhead's hands and quickly slipped past her. "It's a Banoffee pie I baked this morning. It's bananas and toffee," he said over his shoulder as he quickly followed his friend, responding to the confused look Narusegawa shot the pie and then him. Before he went up the stairs, though, he was just able to catch a glimpse of a hyper Su tackling Narusegawa, begging for a piece of the pie. Shinobu had warned him over the phone before he came over about Su's usual personality, but actually seeing it first hand was rather disorienting. Trying to think of the serious, slightly murderous Su with the goofy-looking blond girl he had just seen gave him a headache.

It was a minute or two before they arrived, walking through the open door to see Aoyama meditating. Shinobu gave a polite cough to catch the swordswoman's attention. It didn't seem to work at first, since Aoyama-san was still sitting in the meditating position. Shinobu got ready to make a slightly louder- but still polite –cough when she spoke. "Took you long enough, demon," she said, opening her eyes and turning to glare at Harry coldly.

Shinobu gasped, then moved to reprimand the older girl. "Motoko-!" Harry stopped her from going any further, not wanting to cause a fight or anything similar. He rested a soothing hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright, Shinobu," he said, then turned to the swordswoman and said, "Aoyama-_san_, I will examine the blade and leave as quickly as possible."

The older girl gave a curt nod and gestured toward a sheathed katana on a rack. "It's over there," was all she said as she closed her eyes and presumably continued meditating. Harry blinked, looked over to Shinobu and, seeing her encouraging look, went for the blade.

He took it from the stand almost reverently, only to be disappointed when nothing happened. He sighed.

"What's wrong?" Shinobu asked.

He turned to her and smiled. "It seems this isn't a Dark Companion. It emits a slightly dark aura, yes, but it doesn't seem to be responding to me at all. Oh well." He held it up to the light, examining it as if it were a priceless diamond. "I must admit, though, the balance is superb, even with the sheath on. I wonder what the blade looks like…" and with that, he drew the blade from the sheath in one smooth motion… and promptly blacked out.

OoOoO

"…I wonder what the blade looks like…" Harry said as he drew Hina from its sheath. The moment the sword was clear, it emitted a loud "BOOM" and a huge shockwave of black lightning, blowing Shinobu and Motoko off their feet and into the closest obstacle: for Shinobu it was the wall across from the entrance of the room; for Motoko it was her armor, making a racket as it fell to the floor with her on top of it.

Shinobu blinked away the stars that were swimming in front of her eyes and winced at the pain that shot up her back. 'What the heck just happened?' she wondered. One moment Harry was drawing the katana, then some kind of explosion… her eyes popped open. Harry! What was he alright?! She quickly got up and hurried back into the room, only to be blinded by a sudden flare of dark purple light. Once again blinking the stars from her eyes, she looked over to the source and gasped.

Harry was hovering, small, black waves of light continuously spreading from a point on the ground immediately below him. His eyes were open but glazed, his face slack and emotionless. His arms were a little off his sides, as if he was about to raise his hands in praise to the Kami above. The sword was floating, point down, in front of him; the sheath was still gripped in his hands. The scene filled Shinobu with both inexplicable fear and, strangely, joy at the same time.

She heard a groan from somewhere behind her floating friend, followed by, "What the hell…?" Motoko appeared, rubbing her back. The older girl made her way to a place beside Shinobu, staring as Harry gently hovered in place.

"Motoko? You didn't do anything to the sword, did you?" Shinobu asked, turning sideways to look at her.

Motoko shook her head. "I didn't do anything; this is all the demon's doing."

Shinobu opened her mouth, about to tell Motoko off for calling Harry a demon again, when another flash of light went off, silencing her. She turned back to her friend and gasped again when four beautiful, black wings- like those of some angel -unfurled from his back: first one pair, then the second pair, slowly and gracefully. Hina suddenly glowed blood red before shooting multiple streaks of light that curved and disappeared into Harry's shoulder blades. Another flash, and a THIRD pair of wings unfurled from his back, glowing blood red before settling into the same glossy black as the other two pairs. Then the glow disappeared from the sword and it fell to the floor, biting into the wood so that the blade was stuck upright. Harry's wings furled back into his shoulder blades shortly after, the black waves of light stopped coming, and Harry dropped to the floor with an ungainly thump. Shinobu and Motoko could only stare at his prone form as silence settled down onto the house again. Motoko was the first to speak.

"What… what the hell just happened?" she asked no one in particular.

"My question exactly." Shinobu and Motoko turned around as one and saw Naru, the one who had asked the question, and the rest of the residents of Hinata House at the door, some glaring at them, others staring at Harry.

There was a moment of silence before Shinobu muttered an uncharacteristic "Oh, shit…" If anybody noticed that she- quiet little Shinobu-_chan_ -just swore out loud, they didn't comment.

OoOoO

_Wings beat. Hundreds of colored lights swirl around him. A sudden flair of pain as something strikes his shoulders, causing him to almost fall. He rights himself and turns around. The angel before him was not who he was expecting. _

"_Eris?!? What-?"_

"_I'm sorry, big brother Azrael, but big brother Lucifer has ordered me to stop you by any means necessary."_

"_But why are you following his orders? Do you seriously believe that he'll succeed in overthrowing the Almighty?"_

_A pause. "No, but he's the only one I have left."_

"_What about me? Or Abaddon? We're still your brothers, Eris."_

"_No, Azrael." A bow appears. The string is pulled back. An arrow of black lightning. "Not anymore. You abandoned me, Azrael. You abandon us. Just like Abaddon when he went over to the side of the Almighty."_

_A sigh. "Then so be it." A giant scythe appears. A blur of motion, then the sound of metal tearing across skin. A cry, and the angel starts to fall. Another blur of motion, a burning pain. The girl falls into his arms. Her breathing is shallow, but stable, and he sighs in relief._

"_I'm sorry, little sister…" Wings beat again, and he continues on._

_Fade to black._

A/N: I'd like to end by answering a review from **panther73110**: You find out at the end of this arc. Damn good guess, though. Oh, and nobody's guessed who the wizard and spirit are, yet. C'mon, people! One's the malicious spirit of a long-dead swordsman, and the other raised quite a fuss when he kicked the bucket. Not to mention both of them are mentioned in my profile. Submit your guesses before it's too late!

And don't forget to review!!!


	23. Chapter 22: The Spirit of the Blade

A/N: Congrats to **aliestrikehero** and **Wayne82444 **for guessing the name of the spirit that resides in Hina. Have a cookie! ((tosses a bag of Mrs. Field's cookies to them)). As for the rest of you, you'll have to read on to find out just who the spirit is!

Disclaimer: I don't own _Rurouni Kenshin_. And you already know I don't own anything else, so I won't go into the rest of the usual disclaimer.

Chapter 22: The Spirit of the Ominous Blade

"So… you're telling me the hottie here is a vampire?" Kitsune asked, sounding rather incredulous. Her face didn't budge when Shinobu, Su, and Motoko nodded weakly.

"Not just any vampire, but a vampire-werewolf hybrid that just so happens to work for a secret division of the Protestant church called the Hellsing Agency, which is the same place that the infamous Dracula works?" Nod. Nod. Nod.

"And before he became a vampire, he was a celebrity in an underground society of magic users?" More nods all around.

A moment of silence, then: "At this point, I would scoff and tell you three to stop hitting the crack, but after what I saw, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."

"Not to mention, this explains the explosions and stuff," Sarah said, picking up after Kitsune.

"What this does not explain is why he has wings. Vampires, and definitely werewolves, shouldn't have wings… or, at least feathered wings." Naru said, looking over at the sleeping figure in Motoko's futon. The boy had been moved there before she and Kitsune had started the interrogation.

'Looks like Kitsune wasn't exaggerating about him,' she thought to herself. She'd noticed when she answered the door that this boy- Harry Potter, as he was called- was rather handsome, with the messy ponytail giving him a rugged look usually associated with Indiana Jones, or whatever that American archeologist-adventurer's name was. He was also rather well built, from what she could see through the plain black t-shirt and black jeans he was wearing. But, as nice as those characteristics were, they weren't what had drawn her attention; his most noticeable feature were his emerald green eyes- closed at the moment- that seemed so… she had no one word to describe it, but it was as if he was hurting, but had kept it covered for so long that both the mask and the hurt beneath were now an integral part of him. And, after hearing his story from the girls, she was pretty sure her assessment was correct.

Naru was brought back to the conversation at hand as Kitsune said, "What I want to know is what the whole deal was with that sword. I mean, it gave him WINGS!!! It didn't give Motoko wings! Or Keitaro and Naru, when they used it, for that matter!"

"That's because the sword didn't give him wings, but rather broke a seal that had been placed on him; the wings were always there." Naru froze; that was a man's voice coming from behind her, in the direction of the bed. She turned slowly, fearing what she would find; she wasn't sure their resident vampire for the time being was going to like the fact that they were talking about him behind his back, but she WAS sure that pissing off said vampire was a Bad Thing. She was momentarily relieved when she saw that it was not the still unconscious boy who had spoken, but a second glance at the speaker told her that her fears were still justified.

Where there was nothing before, there was now a man standing by the foot of the bed. He was tall, and carried himself like… once again, she was lost for words, but she could tell, right off the bat, that he was as dangerous as they came. Maybe it was the fact that he was bandaged from head- sans some tufts of black hair- to toe (she assumed he was bandaged from head to toe; he wore a pair of _hakama_ that hid his legs). Or maybe it was because there was something seriously wrong with the look he was giving everyone. Or maybe it was because he carried himself a lot like Motoko's sister, and she still remembered just how scary that woman could be.

The fact that he was completely transparent didn't add to the dangerous air about him, but it still creeped her out.

It took a moment for Naru to recover enough to ask the obvious question: "Wha-? Who-? How-? Who are you?"

The man curtly answered, "I am the spirit of the blade you call Hina. You need not know anything else; the only one that needs to know anything about me is my new master."

"Master?" Motoko asked.

"We've bonded," said a voice from the head of the futon. Naru, as well as the rest of the gang, quickly looked over to see that their guest had awakened and was now sitting upright. "I take it the rest of you want to know what this is all about?" he asked, looking over the group.

"Err… about that…" Su trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.

"We're really sorry, Harry, but… well…" Shinobu continued before also trailing off.

"We know you're… not exactly human," Naru finished, wondering what he was going to do. Her knowledge of both of his supposed races would suggest an anger-induced massacre, but then her knowledge also never mentioned vampires or werewolves having six feathered wings, so she had hope. A small hope, yes, but hope none the less.

It felt like an eternity waiting for him to respond, though it couldn't have been more then a minute. Finally, his lips parted, and… he sighed. "Well, at least I'm saved the trouble…" he said. Naru nearly fainted from the relief.

"So… you're not mad?" Shinobu asked, sounding like she had just been reprimanded by her elders or something. Naru had the strange urge to cover her mouth and tell her to not push it.

"Nah. I mean, the story would have had to come out eventually, it's just that this was a bit earlier then I planned." He then turned abruptly to Makoto, who had been silent and… creepy-looking the whole time. "So… what's your name?"

"Makoto, master. Makoto Shishio," the man supplied.

"You know, you don't have to call me 'master'. I mean, I've got two others bonded to me, and I usually regard them as my superiors… which they are, really. So if you must call me something, call me Harry… or Potter, if you want to be formal." Potter stretched and got up, before turning back to the little group. He bowed. "I do not believe I have met some of you before, though I think I know who is who.

He turned to Sarah. "Sarah, from America. Youngest of the residents here at Hinata dorms and the adopted daughter of a… Seta-_sensei_? I have no idea who that is, though…

He turned to Mutsumi. "Otohime Mutsumi. Student at Tokyo U. Takes a Cardiovascular Pathology class. Has an unfortunate habit of fainting at strange moments and going into a death-like state.

He turned to Kitsune. "And you're…" He blinked in confusion. "Actually, I have no idea who you are. Shinobu didn't get a chance to mention you before Aoyama-_san_ attacked, and my dad hasn't mentioned you, like he did Otohime-_san_."

Kitsune smirked. "Name's Konno Mitsune, kid, but most call me Kitsune. I'm a freelance writer."

"Gambler and drunk is more like it," Motoko muttered. Kitsune waved off the insult.

"Just healthy hobbies," she said, grinning foxily.

"Um… right," Potter said, looking uncertain. "Well, as all of you already know, I'm Harry Potter, and this here-" he gestured at the bandaged apparition, who was still giving everyone that creepy look he was doing so well. "- is the spirit of your sword, Makoto Shishio."

The spirit gave a bow that was almost mocking.

"Hmm… for a demon, you look remarkably human," Naru pointed out. She'd never forget the experience of being possessed by the blade during that visit from Motoko's sister. To think that the ghost in front of her had been the spirit… it was creepy, but also made her curious at the same time.

Makoto gave her a leering smirk that sent chills down her spine… and it wasn't in the good way, either. "Demon, my dear? I've been told I fight like one, but I am no more human then the rest of you…" He took on a thinking pose. "…Less, really, since I am but a ghost, now."

"You were human? But… the records specifically said that the being sealed into the sword was a demon!"

Makoto sneered. "Then it was obviously wrong, little girl! I was a human. A malicious human damned to Hell, yes, but human nonetheless."

"Damned to Hell?" Potter asked, an eyebrow raised. "If you were damned to hell, how was it you were there to be sealed?"

Makoto appeared to think on the answer for a bit, before answering, "Because somebody pulled me out of Hell. I had originally arrived in Hell with two of my most loyal comrades. At the time, I was convinced I could conquer this new land, just like how I had almost conquered Japan, but I soon learned that Hell was much more different then Japan, in ways that I can't even comprehend, now. My companions and I were separated soon after, and I wandered alone for… I'm not sure how long it was, but eventually I was at the brink of insanity." The last statement earned the ghost funny looks from everybody present; the guy already had the light of madness in his eyes, not to mention he'd apparently been in hell. It was safe to say that he was probably a bit past the "brink of insanity", as he put it. Thankfully, the man didn't notice. He continued on, lost in his impromptu story. "I before I could give in, a… man? No. It was no mere man, but something much greater that approached me. But it came in the appearance of a man, a _gaijin_, and offered me a way out of Hell. He said if I were to be a guardian, I would be given a second chance on Earth. I jumped on it without a second thought, desperate to be gone from that… place. Next thing I knew, I was on Earth again, being sealed into a sword by a bunch of sword-wielding priests.

"Over the next couple decades, I amused myself by possessing various wielders of my sword." He leered at Naru then, and she couldn't help by back up just a bit. His leer turned into a smirk. "I do believe you were one of those I possessed, my dear," he said to her. Naru could only nod in confirmation.

There was a moment of awkward silence after that, as everyone tried to find a less awkward topic; really, who would have thought that speaking to a spirit that had possessed you would be so strange? Not that many people would think about it…

Naru thanked the Kami above when Kitsune cleared her throat and gave Potter a leer, thus breaking the silence. Sure, it wasn't as subtle as they would have all like, but it was something, at least.

"So," she said, "tell us about yourself. Shinobu and the others told us a bit, but I'll like to hear about you from… well, you, Harry-_kun_." She purred out the last part in a way that would have most teenage boys melting into a pile of goo. Potter just smiled and nodded, seemingly unaffected by Kitsune's wiles. Looked like Shinobu's assessment of him not knowing about certain things was true, after all.

"Alright, I guess. What do you want to hear?"

OoOoO

They had talked for several hours, Harry learning a bit about each of the girls that were Shinobu's fellow dorm mates. It had been nice, even with Aoyama continuously giving him the Glare of Death ©.

At the moment, he was walking back to his apartment, Shishio floating along beside him. The blade Hina was safely tucked away in a sub-space pocket (the creation of which was considered an intermediate Dark Psynergy spell), the girls thinking it would be best if he kept it until their landlord returned. In all, Harry thought the visit had gone remarkably good. Sure, they were a little nervous around him still, and his secret had been spilled yet again, but no one had tried to kill him this time, so he was going to consider this a day well spent and not think on it anymore.

His course decided, Harry looked to the side at his companion (who apparently could make it so that no one but those that he allowed could see him. Not surprising, really, since he WAS a ghost…) and noticed him frowning in thought.

"Is something wrong, Shishio-_san_?" he asked (in a whisper, of course, since it would have been kinda weird to be seen talking to what others would see as nothing about air). The bandaged man turned to him.

"Nothing at all, Potter-_sama_. Just…"

Harry nodded in understanding. There had been something earlier, during the talk, and he had wanted to address it. The only thing standing in his way was just how to go about it. Looked like he had his chance, now.

"It's Aoyama-_san_, isn't it?"

"How did-?"

"I noticed you looking at her more then the others. Is something the matter?"

"No… just… she bears a remarkable resemblance to a... past lover."

"Really? Creepy."

Shishio scoffed. "You think it's creepy? My lover was a courtesan, yet here's a girl that's at least a decade younger then her, practices the sword arts, is pretty much the complete opposite of her in personality, yet wears her face. Do you know how thoroughly disturbing that is for me?"

"I... no, I can't honestly say I would. Umm... sorry?_"_ Harry said, not really sure what else he could say.

Shishio sighed. "It's alright, Potter-_sama_."

The two continued walking (or floating, in the Shishio's case) in silence.

A/N: Argh… I don't think this chapter came out very good, but it was the best I could do. It's surprisingly hard to write scenes with Shishio; I think he came off as a bit OOC... sigh. But the next chapter will be better, I promise! So far only one person's guessed who will show up next. C'mon, people! Only one chapter left before I reveal who it is!

(On a side note, some of you will be interested to know that I was originally planning to use Enishi instead of Shishio, but the fact that Shishio definitely did die while Enishi's fate was uncertain changed my mind. Not to mention Shishio seems the type to possess people if given the chance…)

Review!


	24. Chapter 23: A Dog Staggered Into Town

A/N: Okay… so far, only one person's guessed who shows up in this chapter. He isn't mentioned by name in this chapter, but it's so obvious who it is that I'm going to tell all of you… at the end of the chapter. Because I still want to keep it as much of a surprise as possible. So nyah! ;-P

Disclaimer: I do not own anything created by J.K. Rowling or Ken Akamatsu. To claim such would be an insult to the fanfiction gods. I bow down to their greatness. ((prostrates self before a copy of _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_ and the first volume of _Love Hina_))

Chapter 23: A Dog/Wizard/Fugitive Walked/Staggered Into Town…

When was the last time he'd eaten?

Forever, it seemed.

Actually, the same could be said about any of the other human comforts he used to take for granted, now that he thought about it.

He'd been on the run for two years now, sleeping wherever he could find some sort of shelter (and sometimes when there was no shelter of any kind available) and rummaging for a half-decent (or just slightly decent, even) meal. He was never in the same place twice, for fear of having the Aurors catch up with him, which would then result in the sending of him back to Azkaban, the closest something could get to Hell on earth.

No, he couldn't let them catch him, not before he found his godson. Sure, many would call it a fool's errand, tell him that Harry Potter had been dead for two years now, but he knew it wasn't true. It couldn't be true! He still had to tell him about his parents, and what great people they were! He'd promised James and Lily that he'd take care of him if anything were to happen, and there was no way he was going to break that promise!

He didn't know where he was at the moment, but he had just finished fighting off a large pack of _kappa_, so maybe he was somewhere in Asia. It didn't matter, of course, since he really had no idea where to find Harry. After all, since the wizarding world thought he was dead, no one had bothered to keep track of him, thus no one could provide any clues.

He winced. The kappa had scratched him up pretty good, he noticed, and he was bleeding in several places. He could feel himself getting weaker, but he couldn't give up! Not now! Not ever! He was going to find Harry, or die trying!

His eyesight was blurring; the kappa must have gotten him in more places then he was feeling pain… of course, he was feeling pain everywhere, so maybe he was just downplaying his injuries. Hmmm… there was a clearing up ahead, with what seemed to be an Asian-styled building sitting in it. Maybe he was in Asia… oh wait… the two girls that were playing around were blond, with one looking Indian. Never mind. Argh… maybe they can help? But what if they're witches? But they seem so nice though… running and laughing… hmm? Hey… he's in the clearing now… can't collapse for these pretty little girls… wanna play with them… wanna play with Harry… have to get to Godric's Hollow, or little Harry was going to be disappointed… his godson was such a cute little baby… his mother's eyes…

There was the sound of flesh hitting hard-packed earth, and he just barely realized it was him before he was engulfed in darkness.

OoOoO

A week and a half had passed. And what a week and a half it was.

After a couple visits, the girls of Hinata House finally relaxed around him enough for him to get to know them more. The first to break the ice was Otohime Mutsumi. Beforehand, the only thing he knew about Mutsumi was that she was one of Michael's students, and seemed to have a tendency to fall into short, anemia-induced comas at the most unlikely of times. He eventually learned that despite her rather airhead-like appearance and personality, Mutsumi was perhaps one of the smartest people in the house, third to Su (obviously) and Naru. A native of Okinawa, she had a strange thing for watermelons and hot-spring turtles. On a side note, she had the biggest set of… well, let's just say she wouldn't have much trouble getting a boyfriend.

Next was, of all people, Kaolla Su. Beforehand, the only thing he knew about her was that she was a genius, had a thing for bananas (according to Shinobu), was closest to Motoko, and rather scary when she was serious. Thankfully, he found that she wasn't serious all the time… or rather, she wasn't serious until an extremely dire situation occurred. According to Shinobu, so far the number of "extremely dire situations" that would warrant her being serious could be counted on one hand. Strangely enough, nobody was really sure or her nationality.

After that was Konno "Kitsune" Mitsune. Officially, she was a freelance writer, but so far he hadn't seen her do any type of work… unless drinking booze and betting on horse races all day could be called work, of course. She was just like her namesake: sly and cunning, with looks that could only be described as "foxy." Strange thing though: she was single, even though she had the same… advantages as Mutsumi, if not quite at the Okinawa native's level.

Then there was Sarah McDougal, a 10-year-old American who was staying at Hinata while her adoptive father was out with the current landlord, one Urashima Keitaro, on a study abroad program. Spunky, playful, and cute as a button, Harry found himself getting along famously with her. Of course, it helped that she was the only one there fluent in English, even if she did have that rude American accent. Out of all the girls (Shinobu excluded), she had gotten used to him the quickest, even though Mutsumi was the first to approach him with friendly intent.

The big sister of the group and acting landlady, the red-headed Narusegawa Naru, started talking to him shortly after Sarah. Though she wasn't as smart as Su, she was still very knowledgeable, and would happily give a helpful hint or two when it came to academics. She was rather nice, even though she had a hair-trigger temper that reared its ugly head every time she thought you were doing something perverted (he found this little fact out when he accidentally walked into the hot springs section while she was taking a dip… he didn't know a normal human could hit so hard until then). According to Sarah, Naru had a thing for the landlord, despite him being a "dork", as she put it.

Last of the girls to approach him was, understandably, Aoyama Motoko, the sword-wielding priestess-in-training. Actually, he approached her one day, having seen her going through some katas on the deck of the dormitory. He had tried to talk to her then, but she just ignored every attempt at conversation.

This went on for a few days, until he just decided to challenge her to a sparring match, thinking if she wasn't going to talk to him, maybe she'd fight him.

It worked.

Now, she didn't look at him like he was the scum of the universe, but rather just someone that hadn't had a shower for a few decades.

The last occupant of Hinata House (though occupant might be stretching it), Urashima Haruka, rarely showed up at the dorms, opting to stay at her store that was a bit down the hill. Since she wasn't there when Harry grew a new pair of wings and Shishio appeared out of thin air, she didn't know what he was. The girls were only too glad to keep it that way.

At the moment, he was at Hinata House, studying with Shinobu while Naru gave pointers. He had started coming over to Shinobu's place to study instead of his place a week or so after what he liked to call "The Confrontation". He didn't know why, but there was just something about the dorm that appealed to him.

Shishio was also at Hinata House with him, but he was watching as Motoko trained, occasionally calling out a suggestion disguised as a scathing comment. Motoko was starting to look like she wanted to murder the ghost… which, when he thought about it, might not be as out-of-reach as most would think. After all, the girl DID have some training in defeating entities of a spiritual nature… Harry made a mental note to tell Shishio to tone it down a bit. Despite his borderline psychotic personality, the man was actually kinda cool… and he was obviously a superb swordsmen; it would be such a shame for the ghost to be banished to parts unknown before he could be convinced to teach him some of those skills.

He was just about to get back to a rather irritating math problem when he heard a scream for help coming from the back of the building.

"That was Sarah!" Naru exclaimed (rather unnecessarily, he couldn't help but think) as she quickly got up and headed in the direction of the scream. Harry and Shinobu shared a glance before following after, worried for the youngest resident of the dorm.

When they arrived they found Sarah frantically speaking to Naru as Su (who had been playing with Sarah) was taking care of something he couldn't see, since the genius' body, small as it was, was in the way. Shishio and Motoko arrived soon after them, the swordswomen tensed and ready for battle. When they saw that nothing was really wrong, they, along with Shinobu, headed for Su to see if she needed help. Harry chose to go to Sarah instead. "What's wrong?" he asked the younger girl when he got there.

Since Sarah was trying to get her breath back (she had said everything in one breath), Naru answered for her: "She says some kind of dog appeared from the woods, then collapsed. Sarah's a bit of an animal lover."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that it was nothing dangerous. He turned to Sarah. "Well, I know a few healing spells; I can take a look, to see what's wrong with it," he said with a reassuring smile. Sarah just nodded.

Along with Naru and Sarah, Harry quickly made his way over to what he assumed was the dog… and froze. The magical energy he was sensing was that of a human male, not a dog. He moved quicker now, until he came upon the sight of Su checking over the body of a massive black dog that was unconscious, which he immediately recognized as a Grim. The reason why the dog was unconscious was obvious: he had numerous bleeding gashes all over its body, its blood already forming a small puddle around him.

It took him a moment to realize why the dog felt human: he was an Animagus (something Harry never bothered to learn- why turn into an animal when you can turn invisible?). The moment he did though, he summoned the Sword of Gryffindor, his weapon of choice for intimidation (and heavy hitting, but that was beside the point), leveled it at the prone form before him, and said, "Guys… step away from the dog…"

"Potter, it's a dog. What's more, it's an injured and unconscious dog. It's not going to attack us," Motoko said, glaring at him.

Shishio, who had been studying the dog as if it were a puzzle box, said, "No, Aoyama-_san_, this isn't just any dog. Something about him… fascinates me."

"You're right, Shishio, that 'dog' isn't normal. Actually, it's not even real; that 'dog' is an Animagus- a wizard that can take on the form of an animal," Harry replied, his eyes never leaving the Grim. The rest of them immediately jumped back from the dog in surprise.

"I didn't know wizards could do that…" Su said, giving the dog a wary look.

"Wizards can do lots of things you probably won't consider, and they know it. It's actually one of the reasons why the majority of the Wizarding World considers themselves superior to non-magical people: they think those things they can do that surprise non-magical people make them naturally better," Harry explained. He then gave an evil little smirk as he continued, "Of course, most wizards aren't aware that 'muggles'- that's what they call non-magical people- have created devices that can give their magic a run for their money. And if it ever came to an all-out war, the world over has organizations that can rip apart any kind of magical uprising like it was nothing… and that's not counting what the regular armies of the world can do if they were pulled into the conflict. So, really, you guys have nothing to worry about."

Seeing that Su understood (not surprisingly, really, since she WAS a genius), Harry turned back to the Grim in front of him… or rather, in front of the Sword of Gryffindor. He didn't know how this guy found him, seeing as how he had made sure the wizarding world had thought him dead the first chance he got (which just so happened to be after finding out about Integra's connections within the hidden society). He didn't want some needy wizards coming to him when they were in need for another hero/stool pigeon. Of course, this guy could have just stumbled upon him by mistake, but given his reputation, that was unlikely.

"Umm… Harry-_san_? Dog or not, I think he's going to die if we don't do something for him…" Mutsumi said, knocking Harry out of his thought. He looked again and noticed that the puddle of blood had gotten bigger while he was talking. With that much blood loss, it was obvious the guy was going to be down for quite a while. Seeing that there really was no threat except maybe to the man's life, he banished the Sword of Gryffindor back to his little sub-space pocket.

"Well… first off, let's stop this bleeding," Harry muttered. He held up his hand and started channeling Darkness, forming a familiar orb of soft violet that hovered over his palm. He raised it over the body and squeezed, making the ball pop and rain down a shower of glowing sparks. After drifting down to a certain point above the body, the sparks twisted and turned by themselves into the numerous gashes. The gashes immediately began to close up, until they were merely faint scars. When the last of the wounds closed, the body flashed a soft purple and the body, which had been stiff and tense even in unconsciousness, relaxed.

"Wow… what was that?" Su asked, her wide-eyed gaze switching between Harry and the "dog".

"'Moonlit Night'. It's a healing spell that utilizes Dark Psynergy, which normally has destructive qualities. Unfortunately, it only heals slashes, bruises, and burns, so if you got hit with a bullet or run through with a sword, you're out of luck. Actually, I used this spell to heal Aoyama-san after our first meeting." Harry was amused when he noticed Su flush a bit and look sheepish. Motoko just glared at him.

Su recovered quickly. "And what exactly is this 'Dark Psynergy'?" she asked.

"In short? The ability to use the darkness within and around me," he replied. "Now, stand back." He closed his eyes for bit and stretched out his senses, searching for the correct weave of magic on the 'dog'. When he found it, he opened his eyes and mentally yanked it, making it collapse and revealing the man that he really was. What Harry saw made him start.

The man was black haired, skinny, and haggard; he had a worn appearance that came only from an extensive period of time starving and away from civilization. But then, that wasn't what had surprised Harry. What had given him a shock was that this man was familiar, though he couldn't place where. Of course, normally, someone looking familiar didn't mean anything, but when one has been on the run for two years, one learns to at least file the information away rather then dismiss it totally.

The surprise only lasted a moment though, before he weaved his magic into a familiar spell and made the body float two feet above the ground. He turned to Su, who was looking like Christmas had come early for her as she studied this new power that defied gravity. "Su-_san_? Can you rig up something like an IV drip for him, then find out and tell me what blood type he is? I have a bit of every type at home, so I should be able to get him some."

Su nodded. "Just get him into lounge and lay him down on one of the couches. I'll get my stuff while y'all do that!" she chirped, then bounded off toward the main building. Harry couldn't help but blink at the girl's cheerfulness in the face of this situation, but shrugged it off as just one of her many quirks. He followed her in, the guy's body floating along behind him.

A/N: For those that couldn't figure it out, the mysterious Animagus was Sirius Black. Yes, all ye Sirius Black fans! Rejoice, for your object of obsession makes his appearance! And he won't be dying this time, too! Actually, he won't even be setting foot in the Ministry of Magic for a long while yet. And, if you read my profile, you'll see that he'll be pairing up with Mutsumi, the nice chick with the amazing rack. I figure he's gotten enough shit in canon, so I might as well give him the good life.

Review!


	25. Chapter 24: A Chat With Godfather Grim

A/N: Hmm… it seems the same two people who guessed correctly for Shishio also guessed Sirius Black correctly. I missed the second person, and I apologize. ((bows)) On a much happier note: this fic has gone over 100 reviews! W00t! Thank you, one and all, for all your support! I really, really appreciated it!

Disclaimer: I do not own much. A computer, a GBA, a DS, and a PSP this coming Christmas (though that last one I only got to play _Riviera: The Promised Land_- now THAT is a cool game). But I don't own any multimillion dollar franchises or nothing… sigh.

Chapter 24: A Chat With Godfather Grim

Harry sat with his back against the wall, watching as the equipment monitored the figure in the futon in front of him. He was clean-shaven and sleeping now, his blood and nutrient levels back up to healthy levels. At the moment, he was trying to figure out why the man looked so familiar, especially without that craggy facial hair he had come to them with. He could almost grasp where he had seen him last… he was laughing… and in formal wizarding robes… and was that a bride next to him? No wait… he was next to the groom... feeling a headache creeping up on him, Harry decided to abandon the train of thought for now and continued watching over the man.

Suddenly, the man groaned and stirred, startling Harry somewhat. He watched as the man slowly opened his eyes and blink, before looking around and seeing him sitting there. "Who are you?" the man asked, looking at him suspiciously.

"If you are who I think you are, then that is of no consequence," Harry said, giving the man a neutral look. Fear flashed across the man's face for a moment before it twisted in annoyance.

"Yeah? Then who am I, kid?" he growled, sounding almost like his Animagus form.

"A wizard."

The man blinked. "Wait… you're not going to tell me who you are because I'm a wizard?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I have had some… unpleasant experiences with your kind."

"Oh…"

A moment of silence. Then, because of a sudden, inexplicable urge to be a bit more open with this man then he usually was with strangers, Harry said, "If it makes you feel better, call me…" Harry search for a name to give, some kind of alibi. What popped up were those strange dream-visions he had every time he touched a Dark Companion. Figuring he had nothing to loose, he finished with "…Azrael."

The man blinked, then said jokingly, "What? No last name?" Harry was not amused, and he showed it. The man gulped and grinned sheepishly.

"May I ask who you are, sir?" Harry asked, trying to turn the topic away from his person. The man looked at him suspiciously.

"You haven't been keeping up with the news for the last two years, have you?"

Harry blinked and shook his head. What the heck did that have to do with anything?

"Oh! Forget I said anything then! Name's Sirius Black."

Harry nodded in acknowledgment.

"So… where am I?"

"Kanagawa prefecture of Hinata City, in Japan; you're at an inn-turned-girl's-dorm called Hinata House."

The guy, now known as Black, blinked. "But… what about those blond girls I saw earlier?"

"Residents. This IS a girl's dorm, after all."

"Then what are you doing here? I'm pretty sure you're not a girl."

"A guest. Fortunate for you, since I'm the one who kept you from dying."

Sirius nodded and simply said, "Gotcha."

"So… Mr. Black, what were you doing here that required you in your Animagus form?"

"Err…" Black's face turned guarded, and it took Harry a few moments to realize that it was the look of someone that had something to hide.

Deciding to take a wild stab at what the problem could be, he told the man before him, "Sir, if you didn't hear me before, I'm not exactly a fan of the wizards, so if it's a secret or something, you can trust me not to blab."

There was a brief moment of hesitation on his part before Black sighed. "I'm looking for my godson, though I'm not sure how I ended up in Japan of all places. I was in my Animagus form because I'm on the run."

Harry quirked an eyebrow. "On the run? From the Ministry, I presume?"

"Err… yeah. Dementors, to be specific."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. From what he learned from Sal, the rather deadly guards of the equally deadly Azkaban Prison were only sent after the VERY dangerous criminals. Of course, however dangerous this currently sickly man was meant squat to Harry, since he could probably just blast him, and the Dementors that were after him, but since he now had the girls to worry about…

He eyed Black suspiciously. "And what exactly was it you did to warrant such a… honor, Mr. Black?"

Sirius had that guarded look on his face again. "Why do you ask?"

"Mr. Black, though some of them don't trust me, and I know for sure that one of them wants me dead, these girls are dear to me, and I WILL NOT see even a single hair on them hurt. If you are dangerous, I will deal with you accordingly. Now, What. Did. You. Do?"

The man gulped, and Harry smiled inwardly at the fact that the man had taken the threat to heart. "Well… err… that is… I'm wanted for the murder of muggles in broad daylight and association with You-Know-Who. But I didn't do it, though! I was framed by one of his real followers!!"

"Really?"

Black nodded.

"Then you wouldn't mind me taking a peek in your mind, would you?" Harry asked sweetly, an evil little smirk on face. "After all, if you were telling the truth, you have nothing to hide."

Black gulped again. "Y-you know Legilmancy?"

"And you know Occlumancy. Otherwise, we would not be having this conversation right now; I would have taken the information I needed and let you be."

"You would have…?"

"If it means the continued safety of my friends, yes."

Black stared at him after that, and before long Harry was feeling like he was being judged. It was not a nice feeling, and he was about to interrupt when Black said, "You're really loyal to your friends, aren't you?"

"Yes."

Black was silent for moment, as if contemplating something. Harry was beginning to get uncomfortable again when the man before him, with his head bowed, said, "You know… I always took loyalty for granted, thinking me and my friends were always going to be there for each other… but then one of us betrayed us, and now… I'm on the run, my best friend and his wife are dead, and their child's an orphan. All because of one sniveling little bastard who decided he was on the losing side of the war and so switched and ratted us out." Black looked up at him, and Harry was surprised to see tears coursing down his cheeks. It was as if a dam burst as Sirius Black started ranting. "I was supposed to be little Harry's godfather, damn it! I was supposed to come over to Godric's Hollow every weekend and play with him, teach him how to prank people and play Quidditch while Lily tried to stop us and tell his father and I it's to dangerous for her little boy! Harry was supposed to grow up and take up our mantle as a Marauder and piss the heck out of that slimy Death Eater Snape! We were supposed to grow old and watch as Harry and some lucky girl gave James and Lily grandchildren! It wasn't supposed to turn out like this! James and Lily aren't supposed to be dead!! Harry isn't supposed to be missing and presumed dead! I was supposed to take care of him! I was supposed to be a guardian, a mentor, and a friend…!" He bowed his head; his tears could be seen wetting his blanket. "I promised them… that I would pass on their legacy to their son… to tell him what great people the Potters were… I failed."

Throughout the rant, Harry had tried to keep his face from showing anything as thoughts and feelings raged within. This man was claiming to be his godfather and his father's best friend. If that were true, then that would mean that this man was a link to the parents he had never known. But it couldn't be true, could it? After all, what were the chances that a godfather he never knew he had would literally stumble in on him? There was no way, unless this was staged.

But then he suddenly realized where he had seen this man: it was in the scrap book Hagrid had given him at the end of his first year of Hogwarts. He was standing next to his father as best man.

Deciding he needed to know more, Harry said, "Sir… I take it you are talking about Harry Potter?"

Black sniffled. "Yeah… and sorry about that at first. It's just… I don't think I've ever told anyone about this before. But there's just something about you…"

Harry allowed a small smile to creep up on his lips. "I'm glad to be of service, Mr. Black. But that's off topic. I just wanted to ask you: why?"

Black looked at him, confusion obvious on his face. "What do you mean, why?"

"Why do you still care about Harry Potter? Didn't Albus Dumbledore himself declare him a fake, and that he wasn't the supposed savior of the wizarding world?"

Black scoffed. "I wasn't looking for him because he's the Boy-Who-Lived. Besides, Dumbledore's a manipulative prick; he left Harry to fend for himself two years ago, and I'll never forgive for that!"

Harry, though nothing showed it except the small grin from earlier, was rather pleased with the answer. He just had one more question to ask him now. "Be that as it may, it's been two years. When he disappeared, he was only twelve. Do you really think he would have survived this long on his own? It's more likely then not that he's already dead."

"No! He survived, Azrael. He has his mother's stubbornness, his father's ingenuity, and both of their smarts. Believe me, Harry Potter survived."

Harry let a small grin show through; this man had never given up on him, it seemed. Even when his world turned their backs on him, this lone man, his godfather, kept on going. He was touched, to say the least. Somewhere in the back of his mind he made the adjustment from calling him "Black" to calling him by his first name.

"Mr. Black," Harry began, smirking in a manner he knew would seem like he had some huge, world-shattering secret (of course, in this case it WAS a huge, world-shattering secret… or, at least Wizarding-World-shattering), "You seem like a trustworthy man to me, so I'm going to let you in on a little secret of mine that might help you find your godson."

Sirius noticeably perked up. "What? You know where my godson is?"

Harry could help but chuckle as he leaned forward and held up his bangs to reveal the faint white zigzag that was all that remained of his famous scar. "Yes, I do. You see, I used to have a rather interesting scar…"

Harry watched as Sirius' eyes locked on to the leftover scar of a scar and instantly widened to twice their normal diameter. His jaw dropped, and then started moving as he tried to form coherent words. Smiling for all he was worth, he said, "Hello, Godfather Sirius."

It wasn't all that big of a surprise when Sirius fainted.

Harry poked the man several times to see if it was one of those one second deals, then, satisfied that Sirius was suitably unconscious, he got up to investigate something he had noticed earlier. It was while Sirius was introducing himself that Harry had first sensed the auras of all the girls, Shishio, and Zylo (who had decided to drop in an hour ago and was swept up in the excitement) gathered in the same place: Su's room. Now, if it were anywhere else, he would have presumed they were just waiting or something, but due to his past dealings with the genius, Harry immediately speculated that there was probably a listening device in the room somewhere.

He walked out the door and entered the first room he came across. There, he immediately went into the closet and, closing the door behind him to create absolute darkness, cast _Shadow Walk_. He was gone in moments.

He reappeared in a shadowed corner in Su's steamy, jungle-themed room, a ways behind the group that was gathered before one of her many computer monitors. Since he couldn't sneak up on the group (it having an extremely skilled swordsman-turned-guardian-ghost, a ghost werewolf baron, and a less-skilled-but-still-formidable swordswoman), he decided to just go over with his superhuman speed (ah, the advantages of being a vampire-werewolf hybrid…). If Shishio, Zylo, and/or Motoko sensed him, they wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

He thumbed down both his life force and magic aura just in case, and was watching from over Naru's shoulder in a second. Shishio, Zylo, and Motoko, all of which were in front of Naru, immediately stiffened, but by then it was too late.

"Hello, all," Harry said, giving them a small grin. The looks on their faces as they simultaneously turned around was something he would treasure forever.

"Oppsies! We've been caught!" Su sang, adopting the all-too-innocent dopey look that Harry had discovered was, in all practicality, her alter ego.

"You know it!" Harry said. He kept the smile, which only grew wider as the group in front of him got more nervous.

"Well… err… we… we're watching a movie! Yeah!" Naru said, laughing nervously and rubbing the back of her head. Harry made a mental note that the temporary landlady was a very bad liar.

"A movie in English?"

The group nodded nervously.

"And this movie… does it, perchance, star my godfather?"

"Is that who he is? Then yes, Harry-_san_, it does! How did you guess?" Mutsumi asked cheerily, smiling that sunny (and, dear he say it, slightly ditzy) smile of hers. Harry was amused to hear most of the other girls groan.

"Look, Harry-_san_, we're sorry, but c'mon! This guy- your godfather- can turn into a dog! Of course we're going to be curious!" Naru said.

"You could've just asked to meet him."

Silence.

"Err… you guys going to ask or what?" Harry wryly asked, tapping his foot jokingly.

"Oh! Can we meet him, Harry?" Shinobu asked. Harry smiled and nodded, then looked around at the numerous tropical trees (presumably banana trees).

"Well, you can if you can find the bloody door…" he muttered playfully. The group laughed.

OoOoO

Sirius Black awoke slowly, groggier then he had been in a long time and more-then-slightly disoriented. The last thing he remembered was collapsing in some kind of courtyard, then waking up to have a talk with his best friend James Potter, who then turned into his son and showed him a faded curse scar. He was pretty sure he collapsed, but the rest of that sequence of events seemed more like a rather crazy dream. With that thought, he opened his eyes.

…And promptly screamed like a little girl.

Looking over his strangely low bed were seven girls that ranged from "pretty-dang-cute" to "wolf-whistle-hot", a ghostly, werewolf-like creature, and two guys that looked like they were ready to defend the girls at a second's notice… well, okay, so maybe that was stretching it a bit; one of them, obviously a ghost, looked kinda psycho, while the other one, with familiar green eyes and long black hair tied in a ponytail, looked more amused then cautious. Sirius got the feeling that the green-eyed one was far more dangerous then the others.

It was then, with startling clarity, he remembered his supposed conversation with James, which, now he realized, wasn't with James at all, but somebody that looked a lot like him… only with much longer hair in a ponytail and his mother's eyes. "Holy shit!!! Harry! It is you!!!" he exclaimed rather loudly, grabbing his long-lost godson in a fierce hug. He could feel tears coursing down his cheeks, but didn't feel a bit embarrassed. He had his godson back, and that was all that mattered.

…Of course, then the girls around them started "aw"-ing and saying something that sounded like "Hawaii", which reminded him that he had an audience. He blushed and let go. "Err… heh heh… sorry 'bout that. Guess I got carried away there, huh?"

Harry (his GODSON Harry) just smiled and waved it off. "Nah, I understand. I mean, finding the son of your friend and all after… however long you took. It'll make even the Grinch emotional."

Blink. "Grinch?"

"Sorry. Muggle Christmas thing."

Sirius just blinked one more time before turning his attention to his audience. "Sooo… I see you've been busy, Harry," he said, eyeing all the gorgeous girls that surrounded his godson.

"Well… I've been on the run from the vampires and werewolf until about… was it eight months ago? Well, anyway, I was on the run until I got picked up by some friends and trained to fulfill… something. I'm not really sure what, but apparently it wasn't a prophecy or something, just some kind of destiny that involves finding the four Dark Companions. Ever heard of them?"

"Nope, never. Sorry. But forget about that; I was asking about when you became such a ladies' man! Damn, but your father would have been proud of you!"

"Ladies' man? Huh? What are you-?" That was when Harry caught on, and he turned redder then most ripe tomatoes. "No! No no no no no!!! It's not like that! They're just friends… well, most of them, at any rate. You're currently in the girl's dormitory they live in!"

"Oh yeah… you said something about that earlier, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I think I did, but I wouldn't have blamed you if you'd forgotten."

It was then that one of the girls, a real pretty one with hair so blue it was almost black and eyes that were just a few shades lighter, said something to Harry in Japanese. Sirius was surprised when Harry answered back fluently. When they were finished, Sirius asked, "What was that about?"

Harry smiled and answered, "She was just asking me to introduce you. Before I do that, though, I think I better fix this language barrier…" Saying so, he closed his eyes, and did something that made Sirius' heart almost stop beating: Harry waved his hands, and Sirius could feel some kind of spell (probably a translation spell, since that was the current problem) being cast wandlessly and silently. His godson had just did something only the oldest and most powerful of wizards were rumored to be capable of! Finished, Harry opened his eyes and said, "There! Can you understand me, Mr. Black?"

"Yeah… and don't call me 'mister'! I'm only in my early thirties, you know. But enough about that! How did you just do that? Even Dumbledore can't pull off what you just did, and he's got to be the most powerful wizard this century!"

"Dumbledore can't do shit right. Please do not mention his name within my presence again." The tone with which Harry said this made Sirius want to scurry into a little hole and wet himself. Then Harry did a complete one-eighty and gave a sunny smile, saying, "Besides, I had some pretty damn skillful teachers… if a bit old fashioned."

It could be said that the instant behavioral change in his godson was a mite bit scary, too.

"Anyways, the translation charm is pretty much permanent, and I've modified it to give you knowledge of the grammar system, since some of the honorifics and such don't have an exact English definition."

That finished, he clapped and grinned. "Right, then… now that that's over with, I'll like you to meet some friends: Narusegawa Naru, the acting landlady…"

The beautiful redhead bowed in greeting.

"…Konno 'Kitsune' Mitsune, residential slacker…"

"Hey!!! Slacking takes work, you know!" said the busty blond that was named.

"…Aoyama Motoko, residential Shinto priestess-in-training and practitioner of the God's Cry school of Kendo…"

The raven-haired beauty just nodded in greeting.

"…Otohime Mutsumi, college student and recovering anemic…"

"Oh my! How do you do, Black-_san_?" greeted the VERY busty and rather beautiful (that's not to say the others weren't beautiful, too! It's just she especially caught his attention) brunette. Sirius had a hard time keeping his eyes off her in general.

"…Kaolla Su, residential mad genius…"

"Hi! Do you have any bananas?" the tanned blond asked. Sirius had to blink as the odd question.

"…Sarah McDougal, transfer student from America…"

"At least you're not a dork, though you could look better," the last blond said, grinning disarmingly down at him. She couldn't be more then ten years old and had that brash accent Americans were infamous for in her Japanese. Despite being a bit rude, she was, undoubtedly, cute as a button.

"…Makoto Shishio and Zylo the Wolf Baron, my familiars…"

"Whoa whoa whoa!!! Hold up there, cub! Did you just say that those two are your familiars?" Sirius asked, looking at the two ghosts.

"Yeah. Long story short: I found some magical weapons, bonded with them, and got these two in the bargain."

"Hey!" "How you appreciate us, Harry-_sama_…" the two protested. The only sign Harry gave that he heard them was a small smirk.

"I'm also bonded to an honest-to-goodness vampire, but he had to stay in England; he works for a militant branch of the Protestant Church."

"Oh… alright." Sirius said, not really sure how to reply to that. Instead of dwelling on it, he turned to the only girl left that hadn't been named, the one who had had talked to Harry earlier. "So who's your last girlfriend?"

"Godfather Sirius! Please! For the last time, they're just friends… well, except for Aoyama-_san_- she's kinda after my blood, but that's a story for another time. And my 'last girlfriend', as you so eloquently put it, is Maehara Shinobu, my classmate at the high school I currently attend."

The girl bowed and said in halting English, "It is nice to meet you, Sirius Black."

Sirius nodded back in acknowledgement. "It's a pleasure, Shin… um… I mean, Maehara-_chan_." He chuckled. "It's going to take me a while to get used to this…"

"If it helps, it took me about two months," Harry said, "Of course, I did it the old-fashioned way, but… eh." He shrugged.

"Oh… well, I've got the time, since I've finally found you." He looked around and asked, "So… where am I staying?" Turning back to Harry, he asked, slightly hesitantly, "Err… you do know where I can stay, right?"

Harry blinked owlishly. Then, a look of understanding appeared on his face, and he slapped his forehead. "Aw, crap… I hadn't really thought that far ahead…"

OoOoO

In the end, Sirius had stayed with Michael (who Sirius had been very surprised to learn was related to Lily), Selene, and Harry for a week before he was finally able to rent the conveniently empty apartment across the hall from them. It was then promptly furnished by Hellsing Agency- ah, the joys of having friends in high places- and the newest member of Harry's little circle of friends/acquaintances/family moved right in.

The initial meeting (via a live video feed over the internet) between Sirius, Integra, Alucard, and the Four Founders had been entertaining, to say the least. Between finally hearing the complete story of Harry's life (something that had somehow been forgotten, brush off, and/or generally delayed for a week), learning just who the vampire his godson was bonded with was, and seeing the young and slightly quirky founders of Hogwarts in the flesh (so to speak), Sirius' mind had overloaded, resulting in him fainting for several hours.

On the bright side, though, after hearing about his experiences with the Ministry of Magic's less-then-adequate justice system, Integra had called a few people, pulled a few strings, and gotten a few heads knocked in (both literally and figuratively). The results were one officially free Sirius Black and one Ministry of Magic under investigation for corruption. Both Harry and Sirius hadn't been able to stop grinning for weeks, one at his newfound freedom and the other at the thought of more trouble for those that had wronged him.

As soon as he was settled in, Sirius took a job at Haruka's little liquor store, alongside Mutsumi. He visited the girls often when on break, and soon he, Su, and Sarah took to the biggest (and most likely first) prank war the inn-turned-dorm had ever seen. He also took to spending a lot of time with his busty co-worker. Harry made a mental note to keep an eye on them.

A/N: This is the last chapter before the end of Arc 2. After that, I'm taking a long, well deserved break before going back to college. Sorry, to those who thought these quick updates were permanent, but I'm just doing them so I can get the Christmas Special up in time.

Once again, sorry, and review!


	26. Chapter 25: The Christmas Special

A/N: This is the last chapter before I take a long break. It's also the end of the second arc, and is mostly an inventory of Harry's new gifts, plus some angst and WAFFYness near the end. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: lots of stuff I don't own will be making their appearance in this chapter. I'd be crazy to even attempt to cover them all.

Chapter 25: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year- The Obligatory Christmas Special!

Christmas was just around the corner, and the city had turned into a winter wonderland, with Christmas lights everywhere and a decorated Christmas tree every twenty blocks. The streets, usually crowded, were even more so now as people scurried all over the streets, trying to complete their shopping.

And trudging through that crowd was Harry, trying to get home after buying some gifts. He was trying his best not to push and shove like most of the people around him, but he was beginning to get sorely tempted. After all, he did have a meeting with Integra, and he'd be damned before he was late! How he wished he could just _Shadow Walk_ or Apparate back to the apartment, but so far he hadn't found even one place that was both shadowed and devoid of human life, and Apparating made too much noise.

It was another five minutes before he was hanging his jacket (which, though he still felt the cold, didn't really need; he just needed it to blend in with the crowd) on the rack in the den. Breathing a sigh of relief, he dropped off the gifts in a corner of his room, cast an invisibility charm on it, and turned on his computer. It was just a few moments and opened programs before Integra appeared on the screen, smiling and- Harry couldn't help but blink a few times at this- wearing a Santa hat.

"Harry! Seasons greeting!!!" she chirped over the line.

"Merry Christmas, Integra. Nice hat," Harry said, smiling.

"Why thank you! I'm so glad you noticed!" she replied, just a pinch of sarcasm in her voice. They both chuckled.

"So, what's this call about?" Harry asked, then, as an afterthought, added, "And no, I won't tell you what I got you for Christmas."

She laughed. "Are you sure, Harry? I've been told I'm pretty good at… persuading people."

"That sooo did not sound right…"

Integra sent him a mock glare. "Get your mind out of the gutter, _bozu_!"

Harry blinked again, before giving his boss/older-sister-figure a small grin. "…You've been studying some Japanese, I see."

"Yep! How's my accent?"

"Not bad."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Anyways, back to business: I was not thinking any disgusting thoughts, thank you very much!" Harry huffed indignantly, acting like the last two or so seconds never happened. "…I was just thinking how… strange that sounded." Before Integra could say any more, he changed the subject. "So, what's this about?"

Integra seemed to calm down a little at the change in topic. She cleared her throat and said, "Well, I'll get right to the point then: we've found the last Dark Companion."

Harry brightened up noticeably at this. "Really? Excellent! Where is it?"

Integra sighed. "And that's where the problem lies. The last owner of the Staff of Libra was our own Helga Hufflepuff."

"Yeah? So? Why don't we just ask her for it?"

"Because she doesn't have it anymore. Harry, she left it behind in Hogwarts."

There was moment of stunned silence as Harry tried to digest this. When he was done, the only thing he could say was: "Oh, shit."

Integra nodded. "Thought your reaction might be something like that."

Harry sighed in frustration. "I take it I'll have to go back?"

"Yes. Luckily for you, though, Godric and the rest can sign you up at Hogwarts under a fake name- something about residual powers and founders' privileges, or something. They're waiting on your choice."

"Oh…" Harry fell silent again, this time to think of a suitable name for himself. He couldn't use anything Japanese, since he was obviously not Asian, but he couldn't think of anything that didn't resemble "Bob".

But then his mind flashed back to his first face-to-face meeting with Sirius, and he grinned. Decided, he told Integra, "Tell them to sign me up as Azrael Corvin."

"Right," Integra replied, before turning to the right and telling someone off-screen. Harry couldn't really hear the answer, but it seemed to be an affirmative since Integra turned back and said, "Done."

"Thanks, Integra. Well, better get to wrapping those presents! I'll see you on Christmas Eve!"

"I'm looking forward to it!" Integra chirped, grinning.

Harry logged off, then leaned back in his chair and sighed. This was not good, not good at all. He hadn't shown it, but the news of the Staff of Libra's location had upset him a bit. This news meant that he would have to go back to those fools that called themselves wizards and witches, which meant he was most likely going to become cold and probably slightly hostile, much like how he was before he came to Japan. He didn't want to feel that way ever again, but it seemed there was no choice; he couldn't break into Hogwarts, and the Founders had passed on their control of the wards after their retirement.

And of course, there was the fact that he had to leave all his friends behind. Strangely enough, this thought centered on Shinobu in particular. The others would be hard to leave, but Shinobu… even just thinking about it caused a small twinge of pain in his chest. Recently, something strange had been happening: his feelings for the petite bluette had… shifted. Before, he had felt some attraction towards her (he had ruefully admitted that after the tenth… strange dream he had had about her), an attraction that had grown constantly. But now… it was beyond attraction, beyond just a simple want to start a relationship with her. It was… he didn't know how to describe what was happening. All he knew was that it was the reason why his chest hurt when he thought about his impending departure. He knew there was a word for this strange and, if he were to admit it to himself, absolutely enrapturing feeling, but he couldn't place a finger on what it was.

"Almighty, what is happening to me?" he asked the silent computer. Briefly, the question of why he was using the term "Almighty" popped into his head, but his mind pushed it away in favor of the bigger problem at hand.

OoOoO

His family, plus Sirius, Shishio, and Zylo, took the news well, which left only the Hinata girls to receive the news. He had gotten even closer to those girls, though –even Motoko (though not by much) – so he was definitely not looking forward to it.

Currently, he was back in his room, looking at the wall behind his computer as he tried to think of a way to break the news to them. He was scanning the room absently, still searching for a solution to his problem, when he laid eyes on an invitation to a Christmas Eve party/midnight gift exchange at Hinata House, given to him by Shinobu the day before when he was hanging out over there.

And then he was suddenly struck with an idea: why not tell them during the party, when they were all in high spirits? Then nothing unpleasant could possibly happen! Sure, the idea wasn't very good nor original (it was almost clichéd, really), but it was the best he had to work with.

So now that that was settled, he happily moved onto another problem: gifts. As confusing and troubling as it was, he had developed a liking for holiday shopping. Yes, it was strange, he knew, but there was just something about choosing a gift and wondering if the receiver would regard it as the best gift ever.

So far, he was finished with…

…Godric. Using Estella, who was the snake equivalent of fifteen, now, Harry had kept in touch with him and, through him, the other Founders. It was through this that Harry had learned that the man was extremely curious about the swords Japan was infamous for. So, for Godric Gryffindor, Harry got a set of every Japanese bladed weapon ever developed, from the small but deadly kunai to the giant (and supposedly mythical) zanbato. Just for good measure, Harry had had them enchanted by a miko (who he had met on one of his many reconnaissance missions) to release purifying Light Psynergy at the contact with the blood of spiritual beings, or _youkai_, as they were called here.

…Rowena. She was a Charms Mistress, and last he heard (through Godric), she was catching up on the thousand years of progress that particular branch of magic had made at a rather scary pace. Wanting to help any way he could, Harry got her the newest edition of a book on advanced Asian charms he had found in Hinata's surprisingly extensive Magical Community (he had discovered the community two weeks before and was planning on exploring it after Christmas, but it seems those plans were in need of some changes now…).

…Sal. There were only four things Salazar Slytherin really appreciated: languages, history, his fellow Founders, and his wife. Since he was already getting something for the rest of the Founders (which included Helga), Harry decided to appeal to his other two likes and got him a book on the history of various Asian languages.

…Helga. In Harry's opinion, Helga was the easiest to get a gift for, since she was always looking for some way to improve her plants. Harry decided to help out by getting her an in-depth book on genetic engineering.

…Zylo. Since Zylo was, for all intents and purposes, a ghost, Harry had a bit of trouble finding his old self-defense (actually, the fighting arts of the Wolf Barons was more offensive then defensive, but the training allowed one to move so fast that they were neigh untouchable to most trained warriors; speed that allowed the wielder to be untouchable is by definition a self-defense technique) teacher a gift. In the end, Harry was forced to just buy him several DVD's and hope Selene or Michael would be nice enough to pop them in a DVD player for him.

…Michael and Selene. He knew his guardians had never had a real vacation- ever; what dates they had gone on had been plagued by paranoia because of their fugitive status. It helped that Alucard got the vampire and lycan empires off their backs, but still… they were a young (physically; mentally, Selene was somewhere around six hundred, but she had been completely focused on avenging her family during all the time, so their experiences were roughly at equal levels…) couple, and so needed their alone time. So, to them he gave two tickets for an all-expenses-paid world cruise, to be spent in one of the liner's few master suites. Also, he gave them their own Gringotts Card (the wizarding equivalent to the muggle credit card, with charms and whatnot that allowed for it to be used just about anywhere) that linked up to a small account (when compared to his own, of course- it was huge compared to your regular, everyday, Joe Shmoe's account) he had set up.

Also, he slipped Michael another Gringotts Card and a note with the address of a skilled jeweler (information courtesy of Integra)… one that specialized in rings…

…Shishio. Harry wasn't going to deny it: the guy was a certified psycho… which made him very, very hard to buy for. Of course, he was a psycho who had led a failed attempt at a coup against the Meiji Government, and had been extremely curious as to what had happened after he had died. His gift had been one of Harry's few cop-outs: he had gotten the ghost a DVD on the last 200 years of Japan's history, plus some additional DVD's on the technological advancements made since the Meiji Era.

…Alucard. During one of the few breaks in training, Harry had stumbled on Alucard watching Trigun ©. Turns out the big bad vampire king had taken a liking to the anime a few years back, and so was a rather big fan. Harry thanked the Almighty for that, because otherwise Tall, Dark, and Moderately Scary (and that was for someone who knew the bugger!) would have been impossible to shop for. As it were, Harry got him a working, almost-mint condition replica of Vash the Stampede's famous silver gun. It was almost mint condition because he had enchanted it to form the illusion of the Angel Arm © when a tiny carved rune on the underside of the handle was pressed for more then three seconds. He had had to design the charms from scratch and carve the rune on his own, so Alucard had better appreciate it!

…Seras. Harry had always known the policewoman-turned-servant-of-a-powerful-supposedly-fictional-vampire-king was a bit of a tomboy, but the truth hadn't really hit him until she invited him to a Quake II © multiplayer tournament. As if eradicating rogue vampires in the most bloody and inhumanly disgusting way possible every other day wasn't enough, she eradicated fellow Hellsing Agency members (all guys) in the most bloody and inhumanly disgusting way possible over the computer during her free time! So for her, Harry had gotten a non-working replica of the BFG10K (which was a pity, really, since it would have been so much cooler [and useful if the replica actually worked).

…Walter. After the rather awkward first impression, Harry got on rather easily with the old former M16 agent. Actually, Harry had obtained most, if not all, of his tactical knowledge and strategizing skills from him, usually from games of chess (which Harry lost most of…) and long talks about his past missions. For him, Harry got a new set of steel wires (his main weapon), this time with diamond dust incorporated into it. Just to be cute, Harry had made the wires look like a beginner's set of cat's cradle.

…And Integra. Apparently, an interest in things that completely and totally doesn't seem like you was becoming a trend at Hellsing Agency, because Integra, the boss of (most likely) the best of the best organization in the field of paranormal investigation, was a big Final Fantasy fan. Specifically, she was a Final Fantasy VII fan. Even more specifically, she was a Sephiroth fangirl. So for her gift, Harry got her a 1:1 (which meant the thing was frickin' nine feet long!) replica of Masamune. It was sharpened, spelled with a Lightening Charm, and enchanted to cast something akin to the infamous ex-SOLDIER's Nova spell, for if she ever needed it in a fight.

All of the gifts were possible because of two people: Su and Integra; Su had helped him find most of the gifts on the net, while Integra had somehow gotten his Gringotts account unfrozen sometime just before the Confrontation. How, Harry was going to have to forever wonder, because she kept her lips tightly sealed on the matter. Harry didn't mind though, because it meant that he now had enough money to buy these extravagant gifts. Actually, the gifts, most of which had been rather rare (and so, by extension, expensive) had barely put a dent in the Potter family vaults.

The Potter family fortune, Harry was surprised to find, was immense (actually, he had almost fainted), spanning five vaults, three of which were filled to the ceiling with galleons from years of interest and wisely bought stocks, one of which was supposed to be for his school supplies (of course, he didn't go to Hogwarts anymore, so that one had started collecting a nice, tidy sum from interest), and one of which was solely for the storage of the many rare, and usually immensely powerful, Potter family artifacts. In short, if the Potter fortune was to be compared to the Gates fortune, it would be like comparing the American Benjamin to the Japanese yen.

Actually, according to Integra (and, once again, she would not tell him how she had found out) there should have been even more money in the vaults, as mind boggling as that was. It seemed Dumbledore, Harry's esteemed ex-role model, had been siphoning (through the guise of first his Magical Guardian, then his supposed beneficiary) some coin to something called the "Phoenix Support Funds", which, also according to Integra, seemed to be a shadow company, from which the money was separated into numerous other accounts. This had been going on for more than two years; by the time it was stopped, more then 200,000 Galleons had been stolen. To make it worse, Harry couldn't have anything done because he was supposed to be dead, and had to continue acting the part or be swamped by those unwanted pests that dared to call themselves magic users. Oh, and Gringotts didn't reimburse, too. Harry had been pissed; there went another strike against the old… coot (the other words he wanted to use were vulgar enough to make a pirate- much less a sailor- blush)!

Harry shook his head; further ponderings along that particular route lay the road to madness. Instead, he turned back to figuring out what to get the rest of his friends and family. He leaned back in his chair and got ready for a long session of brain wracking.

OoOoO

Harry was in his room, sitting at the same chair, and staring at the same wall several hours later. He had decided to visit Hinata House for gift ideas, and had just returned, having succeeded… for the most part.

Though he hadn't found anything for Naru or Haruka, he now had some pretty good gift ideas for the rest of the girls. Kitsune and Sarah were easy: several bottles of fine sake (or other alcoholic drinks) and some kind of antique sculpture, respectively. Mutsumi would probably love something watermelon-ly or turtle-ly, and Su was going to get the newest game system he could find.

And Shinobu… well, he had something special in mind for her…

As for Motoko… since the girl, though warmer now, was still obviously distrustful of him, he decided to put some extra thought into her present. And it just so turns out that the swordswoman had had her beloved katana, _Shisui_ (Shishio had almost choked when he had head the name… despite having no need for air), broken during a fight with her sister a month or two before he had arrived in Japan. She kept the hilt and scabbard, the only parts of the Shisui that were salvageable, as a souvenir and reminder. He grinned in a rather mischievous way; what he was planning was going to be perfect: reforge _Shisui_, maybe even add a couple… improvements.

And the best part was that he didn't really need to look all that hard for help on the gift! After all, he had a master of metalworking (Godric), already knew a miko for any kind of light-based enchantments, and was close friends with four of the most powerful magic users of all time. Heck, the hardest part would have been getting the hilt so they could have an actually base on which to forge the blade.

Harry dug around in his pocket, eventually removing a wooden katana handle and inspecting it. Good thing he thought ahead, because now he could get started on this particular gift immediately… he idly wondered when Motoko was going to realize that the "_Shisui_" sitting in her room at the moment was really just a transfigured twig?

OoOoO

Several days passed, and the night of Christmas Eve rolled around. Harry and family were at Hinata House, lounging around in the lobby as Sirius regaled them of adventures back when he was in Hogwarts. The party had gone smoothly… well, except for dinner, but what can one expect when three of the guest can't exactly eat solid food? Good thing Selene had been smart and packed him a couple thermoses of blood (she and Michael had not come, opting to use the resulting alone time to catch up on… things).

The clock chimed twelve, signaling midnight, and, by extension, the beginning of Christmas Day. Naru stood up and said, "It's midnight, people, and you know what that means!"

Su cheered. "Yay! Goodie time!!!"

Harry grinned at her enthusiasm, but inside he was getting more and more nervous as the time to tell them his little bit of news came closer. His nervousness only increased as, one after another, the group gathered around him gave out their presents. Sure, he was distracted when he opened Shinobu's present to find a very handsome kimono, and Sirius' present- a holographic map of Hogwarts he called "The Marauder's Map 2.0" (Harry was pretty sure the name was a symptom of him hanging out with Su so much; you know you've gone muggle when… you start using computer lingo with magical artifacts!)- had been extremely interesting, but all in all he had butterflies in his stomach the whole time. Eventually, it was his turn. He stood up, got his presents, and started handing them out.

To Sirius, he gave the two volumes of _Trigun_, because the man had developed a bit of a love for the comic. And who could blame him, really; can anyone resist the story of a god-like alien pacifist that can outshoot anyone trying to stop his equally-powerful-and-skilled-but-highly-insane twin brother from destroying the human race?

To Haruka, who, though he didn't see very often, was pretty nice to him when they did meet, he gave the most advanced laptop he could find on the market, then had some of Integra's geeks to improve it. Su was kinda pissed (which was a glare and a "Hey!" for her), since all she got her was a custom-made Palmpilot-like thing, but when it turned out that the Palmpilot thingy was actually more advanced then the laptop, she got over it. Harry made a mental note to tell Integra about it later.

To Su, he gave a box filled with twenty of the newest games on the market. At first he was going to get her a Playstation 2, but then realized that she probably already had one. Good thing, too, since it turned out that she DID already have one. Luckily for him, though, she hadn't had the chance to get some games yet.

To Mutsumi, he gave a 2m x 2m (approx. 6' x 6') stuffed Tama-_chan_ figure that he had to have custom made because of its size. Mutsumi squealed in glee and promptly glomped the giant plushie, though not without giving him a peck on the lips. Motoko gibbered in fear before passing out; it took twenty minutes to wake up the swordswoman. While this was happening, Harry noticed Shinobu glare at the busty brunette. It was rather unsettling.

To the real Tama-_chan_, he just gave bag of gourmet turtle food wrapped in a big, red ribbon. He didn't really know what the hot spring turtle liked, and felt kinda bad for going with such a generic gift (yes, some might say feeling bad about what gift you get a pet is rather stupid, but Tama-_chan_'s intelligence was borderline sentience level, if not past that). Tama-_chan_ didn't seem to mind, though.

To Sarah, he gave an authentic terra-cotta soldier. At first he wasn't sure what to get her, but then he found one of those six-feet-tall Chinese clay soldiers (you know, the ones that that one Chinese emperor buried with him so that he could have an army in heaven, or something like that) in his vault while he was there to see what kind of artifacts he had. He wasn't really sure why he had one or how one even got into the Potter vaults, but… well, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. So he shrank it, wrapped it up, and here it was, with Sarah poking, prodding, and generally examining it while making sounds of admiration… after he unshrunk it, of course, since one could get a midget terra-cotta soldier rip-off anywhere nowadays, and his gifts were supposed to be one of a kind.

To Naru, he gave a Rolex. It was an obvious choice for him, really, since she was a rather busy young woman, what with classes and her teaching job. When the redhead gaped and him and started stuttering, he just shrugged and said, "Don't worry about it. My money's not going anywhere else anyway."

To Kitsune, he gave a case of what Integra told him were rare and coveted wines that any alcohol lover would know. Well, apparently Integra had been wrong, because Kitsune had no idea what most of them were, but a sip from one made her pretty happy… if crushing the life out of a person with a bear hug and thanking them profusely over and over and over again counts as "pretty happy".

Through out the whole time this had been happening, Motoko had been looking out into space as if she didn't care much for what was going on, which was probably the case (well, there was that incident with Mutsumi's giant turtle plushie, but that was because of a pathological fear). So her reaction when Harry walked up to her was understandable: her jaw dropped in surprise. She managed to get out a broken "Wh-what the-? Potter?"

Harry gave a small smile. "What? Thought I would forget about you? I still have quite a bit of sucking up to do, you know."

"Sucking-? Hmph. Don't expect to get very far, demon. I still think you're evil incarnate."

"Ouch. I guess I kinda deserve that… I think… whatever. Well, the point is that I do have a gift for you, and it's a damn good one, too, if I do say so myself." Then, with an unnecessary click of his fingers, the _Shisui_, in all its reforged glory, appeared in his hands.

There was a moment of stunned silence as Motoko stared at the blade in awe while the others just looked on in stunned silence. There was no mistake that those that could recognize the blade, recognized it for what it was. "Wha… how did-? When-? Wha-? How-?" Motoko finally managed to get out, her eyes never leaving the blade.

"The _Shisui_ in your room is really just a transfigured stick; I switched it the last time I was here," Harry said, grinning like a maniac.

A moment of silence, then… "You WHAT?!?"

"Well, how else was I supposed to get it away from you? I couldn't very well say: 'Hi Aoyama-_san_! Can I borrow your prized broken katana so I can fix it and give it back to you as a Christmas present?' Yeah, right."

Silence.

"I had it reforged by a friend of mines, then enchanted- blessed, as you would call it- by this miko I know. I think it's supposed to do some kind of BFG effect if you channel your chi into it and release that chi as you strike."

"BF-what?" Su leaned over and whispered something into the swordswoman's ear. Motoko's eyes popped. "Oh."

"I also put an Unbreakable Charm on it, so this never happens again. Of course, this is going to make it very hard for me to get you a Christmas gift to top this one next year…" He shrugged at the thought. "Oh well. So, you like?"

Silence.

"Aoyama-_san_?"

"This is… I apologize for my comment earlier, Potter-_san_. I… was out of line."

Harry blinked; he had never had her apologize to him before, and it was a rather… disorienting experience. "It's alright… I guess… umm… this is weird." With nothing else to say, he pressed _Shisui_ into her hands. "Here. Your sword."

"Thanks you, Pot- Harry-_san_. I am forever in your debt."

"Don't mention it," Harry replied with a grin.

And then it was Shinobu's turn. Standing in front of her, looking at her as she obviously tried to restrain herself from bouncing in her seat in anticipation, the butterflies that had been playing tag in his stomach suddenly decided to kick it up a notch and start playing rugby. He knew that after this, he was going to have to break the news, but… something was wrong. He found that he couldn't speak or move- he just stood there, looking into Shinobu's amethyst eyes.

Then it hit him: he didn't want to leave this girl. The rest were his friends, sure, but his sole reason for not wanting to leave Japan was because he was going to leave Shinobu behind. Just the thought of it gave a violent tug at his heart strings. He knew there was a word for this reaction, but wasn't sure what it was. It was most definitely not a "crush", and it was certainly beyond "attraction", so what was it…?

Seeing confusion on her face, Harry collected himself, shoved the thoughts into the back of his mind, and gave her a grin. "And as for you, Shinobu, I… well, I got you something special," he said as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out an old, slightly worn-out velvet box that was slightly bigger then his palm. His grin grew larger as he literally FELT everyone's go bug-eyed at the sight. He opened the box with a flick of his thumb.

Inside was a beautiful necklace; it was about 22" long gold chain with a large- but not overly large- emerald pendent on the end of it. Shinobu gasped. "Oh my…!" she managed to say.

"Sirius says this had been my mother's… or rather, it would have been; they died before my dad could give this to her. The pendent has a high-level Shield Charm on it, and was meant to protect her if the war were to ever become anything more then skirmishes and he had to go and fight. I want you to have it, to remember me by."

She blinked. "Remember you by?" she repeated.

Harry gulped; time for the moment of truth. "Yeah…" He turned to the rest of the group. "I… have an announcement to make." He paused for a bit to gather himself; it shouldn't be this hard! "The last Dark Companion has been found, and I am to retrieve it. Unfortunately, it is hidden away in one of the most secure places on the planet: Hogwarts. Starting after New Years I have to attend the spring term there, so as to not arouse suspicion. I'll be gone for the next six months."

There was a moment of silence, broken by Shinobu as she jumped to her feet and ran up the stairs. Harry could only stare after her. "What the…?" he managed to get out. He looked back to those assembled around him to see that they were all as confused as he was.

"That wasn't supposed to happen," Harry finally managed to get out.

"Obviously," Sirius said. Harry shot his godfather a glare. Sirius raised his hands in defense.

"Great… I figured she might take this kinda hard, but I never really expected this…"

"I must admit, this is rather unusual of Shinobu," Motoko stated. The rest of the dorm mates nodded in agreement.

"Okay… so what do I do?" Harry asked.

"I'll go talk to her, see what's wrong," Naru suggested. She was already half out of her seat when Sirius spoke up.

"Actually, Harry should go talk to her."

Everybody turned their attention to the man. "Why, Sirius-_sempai_?" Naru asked.

"Similar age, similar interests… I just figured he might understand her better," he replied with a shrug.

"What about Su?" Motoko asked, jumping into the conversation.

"A year can make all the difference."

"But-"

Motoko was about to argue more, but Harry interrupted, "I'll go. I have to find out what's wrong." And with that, he started towards the stairs.

When he finally found her, fifteen minutes later, it was on the roof, staring out across the city. He stood a little ways behind her for a few moments, silently admiring the view. The moon was bright and round, and the crisp December air allowed him to see miles of glittering buildings; it was beautiful.

Eventually, he started moving towards Shinobu again, until he was standing over her. Before he could say anything, he heard a muffled "Go away" from her.

"Why?" He asked.

"…Just go."

"Not until you tell me why I should." He took a seat next to her. "I care for you, Shinobu, you know that, right?"

Shinobu stayed silent for a moment. Harry was beginning to think she wasn't going to respond at all when she whispered, "You're lying."

"Huh?"

"I said you're LYING!!!" She leapt to her feet as she said this, angrily glaring down at Harry. He was startled at the sight of tears freely rolling down her cheeks. "You don't care! You never did, and you never will!!!"

"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked, confused. Where the hell was this coming from?

"If you cared, you wouldn't be leaving!"

Harry blinked; what the…? "…Okay, that's just-"

"SHUT UP!!! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Don't you dare try to say I'm just being stupid!"

"I wasn't-"

"Yes you were! I know it!"

"No, I was-"

"Yes you were! You were going to call me an idiot because you don't give a damn about me!"

Harry found himself getting angry; why won't she just let him explain himself? "Look, Shinobu, I-"

"Don't you 'Look Shinobu' me! Don't you dare! I'm sick and tired of you acting like you actually care!"

"What the hell-?"

"You bastard! Just stay away from me!"

Harry was finally nearing the end of his patience. "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THIS?!?"

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!!!" She gasped as soon as she said this, a hand flying to her mouth.

Harry found himself speechless and frozen in place, trying to grasp what she had just said. Intellectually, he knew what the statement meant, but something about it had struck something deep within him and touched a cord in his heart. He didn't know what it was, but the images and ideas invoked by the word "love"… they were familiar, as if…

Then it hit him. The fact that he was more then attracted to her, that he would gladly kill and be killed for her, that he would give everything he had for her, and then some… he loved her. An unknown weight seem to lift off him almost immediately as he realized it.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice commented on how clichéd his situation was. He beat the crap out of the voice and kicked it out.

He realized Shinobu had continued to talk. "…I didn't mean it that way! I mean, I was… um… I…" she stuttered, tripping over her words. A sudden idea flashed through his head: since the situation was so cheesy anyway, he might as well end it the way it was supposed to end.

So with that, he took a step up to her and kissed her full on the lips.

The world stood still. Indescribable feelings coursed through him as he lost himself in her lips. It was almost ruined when that little voice in his head returned and commented on how pathetic that last description sounded, but he just shoved it in a box and continued on.

After a minute or so of pure bliss, they came back up for air (or rather, she did, since Harry didn't really need to breathe; he only gasped for air because of the experience just then). Shinobu had a dazed look in her eyes. "Wow…" she whispered.

"Yeah… wow."

"But…"

Harry placed a finger on her lips, shushing her. "I love you, too, Shinobu. I didn't connect the feelings I was having with love until you reminded me, but I'm sure, without a shadow of a doubt, that I love you."

Fat tears started rolling down her cheeks again; Harry was about to freak out when she said, "I'm so sorry for what I was saying at first. It's just… the first boy I was attracted to left, but I wasn't really all that hurt because I knew it was just a crush… not to mention I would have had no chance whatsoever, what with the likes of Naru and Mutsumi going after him.

"And then I met you and fell in love, only to find out that you were going to leave me, too. I couldn't take it," she finished, gazing down sadly.

"It's alright." He said softly as he took the jewelry box out from his pocket, where he had placed it. He popped the top open and took out the necklace. The dangling emerald sparkled as it caught some of the light from the city. "Let's try this again," he said with a grin. He undid the clasp, wrapped the gold chain around her slender neck, and locked the clasp again. He then stood back to admire how the necklace looked on her. She was beautiful. "Merry Christmas, Maehara Shinobu," he whispered

She stepped up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and gave him a kiss. When they came up for air, she smiling up at him and whispered back, "Merry Christmas, Harry James Potter."

They sat back down and leaned into each other, her head snuggled against the crook of his arm and his arm draped around her shoulder as they looked over the glittering city. It was perfect.

OoOoO

The rest of the guest looked on from the roof opening, most of the girls (all of them except Motoko, actually) either openly crying or about to. Sirius, in front of all of them, smiled as he watched the touching moment. He could remember happening upon James and Lily doing something like this in the Astronomy Tower when they were still at Hogwarts. He sighed; the sight brought back some happy memories, memories of when the Marauders and Lily were all still together.

He smiled at the memories, even as his tears fell. "Prongs, Lily, Moony… wherever you guys are right now… Merry Christmas," he whispered into the air.

A/N: And thus ends arc 2, amidst enough angst and WAFF to make a soap opera writer throw up a little in his mouth. Harry and Shinobu have finally admitted their love for each other, Motoko won't be as mean towards our little hybrid, and Sirius gets some last minute air time, since he won't be appearing much in the arc 3. After all, he won't get a chance to, since Harry will be at Hogwarts! That's right, people! The part you've all been waiting for: Harry Potter VS. the Wizarding World. It's going to be fun!

…But it won't be out for a while, though, so you all are going to have to wait a little bit longer. Sorry.

Merry Christmas, and Review!!!


	27. Chapter 26: The Hogwarts Express

Chapter 26: Back into Hell

A/N: I'M BAAAAAAAACK!! Sorry for the 2(?)-month hiatus; I was working on the "Return of the Moon Prince" thread on Anime Addventures. But no worries now, because I'm going to finish this arc before I go onto anything else!

I'm back, and ready to kick some ass… provided, of course, this arc isn't a complete let down.

Disclaimer: I want a buster sword. I really want one. I really, REALLY want one. It not being usable is of no consequence.

Chapter 26: The Hogwarts Express

It was a week after Christmas, and Harry found himself sitting in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, glaring out a window and mentally cursing Helga for leaving the Staff of Libra at the ancient castle. Because of her, the next five months were going to be hell for him, what with seeing faces that he never, ever wanted to be within a mile of again.

Despite it having been almost three years since the wizarding world tossed him away like yesterday's trash, he still felt resentment towards them, especially the people that should have known better. After all, he did save their pathetic little world three times before he was even half-way through his teenage years; one would think they would have at least tried to find him. Oh, he wasn't looking for something like compensation or anything similar, but at the very least they could have tried! A simple "Point Me" spell would have led them right to him! But no, they just left him to the vultures and replaced him with Longbottom.

That thought had him winching in empathic pain for the poor boy. He remembered him: brown hair, average features, had a toad familiar named Trevor, and was meek beyond all possible belief. He would have been pretty surprised if Neville hadn't suffered from at least one nervous breakdown over the last three years; he couldn't take the pressure of Snape staring down his neck, so what chance did he have with the whole of the wizarding world looking to him to defeat the (supposedly) most powerful Dark Lord this century?

But some good had come of it, at least: because of the wizarding world's abandonment, he had met Selene and Michael, Integra and Alucard, Zylo, the Founders, his godfather Sirius, the girls of Hinata House…

…Shinobu…

Because of that one event, Harry now had a family that loved him (however dysfunctional), friends he could trust, and a girlfriend (still felt kind of weird thinking of her as such, but it was nothing compared to his frame of mind come Christmas morning) whom he loved and knew loved him. They at least had that going for them.

A piercing whistle sounded and the compartment shuddered as the train began to move. Harry made one last mental check:

'Trunk?' He kicked back his legs and heard a dull "thud." 'Check'

'Estella?' He patted his left wrist, where the napping jaculus, who had finally stopped growing at nearly a foot and a half long with a wingspan of nearly a foot from wingtip to wingtip (she was still slender though, so her coiled body easily fit in the sleeves of his robes), was. 'Check.'

'Subspace pocket?' He sent out an invisible tendril of Darkness and… "zipped" the air in front of him open, making a dark hole appear in thin air. He peered in and smiled when his sight fell, for the millionth time (which in this case may or may not have been a figure of speech, actually), on the two new additions to his armory: A Pancor Jackhammer and another, bigger Buster Sword.

The Jackhammer was a gift from Alucard, Rowena, and Helga. It had a drum charmed for infinite slugs, with each slug filled with several dozen pellets of a new potion especially designed to make a rather big boom. Unfortunately, duplicating such a complicated object required quite a bit of magic, magic which was drawn from the wielder. Harry approximated that he'd have about a dozen slugs before he started feeling the drain.

The Buster Sword was a gift from Integra, Sal, and Godric. It was about a foot or so longer then Gryffindor's Sword, and had a pure black blade mounted on a silver hilt worked into the likeness of a Seraphim, with three wings spread wide to create a hilt and the other three wings partially folded to form a hand guard. Harry had been unable to recognize the material of the blade and the hilt. He named it _Leliel_, after the Angel of the Night.

He gazed for a bit longer, then nodded in satisfaction and "zipped" the air back up. 'Check.'

'Occlumancy shield?' He mentally checked his shield and found it still stronger then depleted Uranium. 'Check.'

'Passive Legilmancy?' He let his mind wander and heard the muffled thoughts of the children walking by his compartment. 'Check.'

'And last but not least…' He slipped the wand out of the wand holder strapped to his right forearm with an expert flick (he'd been practicing) and examined it.

The "wand" wasn't even a real wand; it was thirteen inches of polished Lebanon cedar with a thin sliver of alchemized silver, a substance known to hinder and/or disrupt magic flow, at its core.

The reason for the limiter was simple: Harry was too strong by modern day standards- Hell, he was strong by the Founder's standards! - and would rather not have to concentrate intensely to adjust his magic every time he did a simple spell. It would have been way too much trouble trying to keep a _lumos_ from lighting up the whole room when it was only supposed to light up, at most, a foot around him.

Suddenly, several presences entered his Legilmancy field, startling Harry out of his thoughts. He quickly slipped his wand back into its holster, whipped out a copy of _Oh! My Goddess: Wrong Number_ (his present from Seras and Walter, along with the next two books in the series), and peered over the top of the book to see who it was. He almost immediately regretted it.

There stood before him the two people he hoped he would never see again: Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger… or rather, he thought it was them; his former best friends had changed a lot since he last saw them.

Weasley (Harry had immediately thought of the people in the room by last name; they weren't his friends anymore, so why bother being friendly?) had gotten TALL; Harry's 6'3" was nothing to laugh at, but it was nothing compared to Weasley's 7' (approximately, of course). The redhead's hair, which had been best described as "normal" back in second year, was now ratty. There was an arrogant look about him now, one that was beginning to piss Harry off. Harry only got more pissed when a quick dip into the redhead's mind told him that he was proud of the fact that he was the famous one now, not "Harry-bloody-Potter". It was all he could do not to pull out Caput Mortuum, Thanifex, or any of his other weapons and turn him into deli meat.

Granger was a different story. She'd only grown several inches since second year, putting her at 5'7" (an approximate, once again). Her hair was still as bushy as ever, but she had gained some curves, giving her a kind of "girl-next-door" look. He did a Legilmancy scan on her, too, just because he was curious, and blinked when he found grief and guilt that'd been stewing in her mind for at least two-plus years. He'd have to look into that.

Behind the two ex-friends were Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom. Where Weasley and Granger were barely recognizable, Weasley and Longbottom were recognized only because Harry had picked up the fact from the first two's minds.

Weasley-onna (because he'd realized that referring to both her and her brothers as "Weasley" was going to be confusing) had grown tall and willowy, with long, fiery red hair cascading down her back. She would have been a real beauty if it weren't for the bags underneath her eyes and the obvious sag in her shoulders, evidence of either some kind of draining activity or quite a few restless nights. A quick scan told him that it was both: apparently she had a link to Voldemort because of the diary she had literally poured her soul all those years ago, so now she was learning Occlumancy from Snape, who was teaching it all wrong (probably on purpose, too, that sadistic mother…), and having nightmares night after night. Harry pitied the poor girl, he really did.

Longbottom seemed to have grown skinnier, and not in a good way. His shoulders where slumped, as if he were holding the weight of the world on them. He looked like he hadn't relaxed for quite a while, and looked quite fidgety. Harry didn't have to read his mind to know what was wrong: the kid was now the Boy-Who-Lived, the one to save everyone from the big bad Dark Lord. The pressure was obviously cracking him like an egg.

And coming up the rear, reading the Wizarding World's version of _The Sun_, was a blond girl that was nowhere near as tall as Weasley-onna, but was just as willowy. She had a slightly glazed look in her eyes, as if she were on some kind of drug. Strangely enough, her wand was tucked behind her ear and her neck was adorned by a bottle-cap necklace, of all things. A quick scan told him her name was Luna Lovegood, but that was all; Harry had almost fallen out of his seat at the chaos that was her mind.

"Oy! Who are you?" Weasley asked.

Harry could feel annoyance coursing through his veins; the sight of that smug look and knowing the reason why had, as mentioned earlier, pissed him off. Of course, he didn't blow up, as that just wasn't his way. Instead he just put his _manga_ down, quirked an eyebrow, and replied, "And that would matter to you because…?"

"This is our spot, that's why!" Weasley said haughtily.

"I see. And what is your name?" As Azrael Corvin, he wasn't supposed to know who anyone at Hogwarts was.

"Ronald Weasley!" Weasley had said it as if it should be recognized.

Harry pretended to look around the seat for a bit before he looked up again and said, "I'm sorry, but your name doesn't seem to be anywhere in here; it looks like this place isn't yours. Good-bye." And with that, he went back to his _manga_.

"Wha-? But-! Get out!!" Weasley sputtered, his face now as red as his hair.

"Or you'll what? Hex me? Try it, dipshit, and I'll make it so that you'll never have children." Harry growled, still with his head in the _manga_.

Harry saw the redhead beginning to draw his wand and tensed in anticipation; there was no way he was going to back out of this fight! Especially after what he read in the wanker's mind!

He was almost sorry when Granger placed a hand on the Weasley's arm and gave him a pleading look. "C'mon, Ron, we need to go to the Prefect's meeting," she whispered. Harry resisted the urge to blink at that; Granger he could understand, but Weasley as a Prefect? Pfft! Get out of here! It was probably favoritism of some sort.

"Yeah, listen to your girlfriend, jacks. She sounds like she knows more then you." Harry couldn't help the smirk on his face as he added, "But then again, it's not hard to be smarter then a retard, is it?" A fight probably would have broken out right then and there if Granger, Weasley-onna, AND Longbottom hadn't held the redhead down.

"C'mon, Ron!" Granger repeated, shooting Harry a glare before the three of them dragged the fourth off. Harry flipped them the bird, smirking at the victory.

He was just about to go back to his _manga_ when he noticed Lovegood was still there. He looked back up. "Yes?" he asked patiently; to his knowledge, she hadn't done him wrong before.

"Nothing. Just wanted to welcome you back," she said. Harry's eyes bugged as she smiled and skipped after the others.

But before he could think on what had just happened, though, he heard clapping as someone said in an all-too-familiar drawl: "Very nice, very nice indeed. You know how to rile someone up, don't you?"

'Oh please, not him…' Harry mentally begged as the speaker appeared. He cursed his luck as it was indeed the one person he probably didn't want to see more then his ex-best friends: Draco Malfoy, son of the man who had ruthlessly beat him to death. Standing next to him, also smirking, was a girl Harry could only presume was Pansy Parkinson, while flanked on either side of them, just like two-plus years ago, were the gorillas Crabbe and Goyle.

Harry stamped down on his quickly growing anger, reminding himself that Malfoy Jr. was not Malfoy Sr.; the son should not pay for the sins of the father. "Thanks. He's easy to insult; he offers a lot of ammunition," he drawled, matching Malfoy Jr.'s easily (no surprise, really, since one of his teachers WAS the ever sarcastic Alucard).

"Here, here." He walked over and offered his hand. "Draco Malfoy, and this is Pansy Parkinson, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle," he introduced, gesturing to his companions with his other hand.

Harry stared at the hand, debating whether he should take it. To give himself some time, he looked up and studied the group.

Malfoy Jr. had grown, as expected, but had changed surprisingly little. He was still blond, average height, and… Elvin, he thought the word was. Oh, and still arrogant as ever, too, but a quick scan told him it was more because of his upbringing then actual malice.

Parkinson had actually grown to be… pretty, kinda, which surprised Harry because he remembered her as a rather plain, pug-faced little girl. Now, she had that whole _Pulp Fiction_, Uma Thurman-thing going for her.A scan told him that, like Malfoy Jr., her bigoted attitude was a result of her upbringing. Harry was beginning to wonder if the pure-bloodist attitude in this generation was only because the children didn't know any better. He resolved to investigate the matter further when he got to Hogwarts.

And as for Crabbe and Goyle? Still big, still dumb, and still ugly. The only thing that had changed at all was that, unlike when he was twelve, he could now take them both out quite easily in melee combat.

Finally deciding that he might as well form a truce, if nothing else then because it may let him get close enough to get his revenge on Malfoy Sr. (something which he was still working on even after two years). He shook the hand and introduced himself using his alibi: "Azrael Corvin. Nice to meet you."

"Corvin? I don't recognize that name," Malfoy Jr. said, studying him.

"Not many do. It's a rather ancient name, dating back to several centuries," Harry lied smoothly. Actually, it was more misleading then lying, since the name "Corvin"- or "Corvinus", rather- really was an ancient name, just not in the wizarding world.

"The Malfoys are an ancient family, too, so how come I have never heard of your family?" Malfoy Jr. asked, suspicious.

"The Corvin family saying is 'The less someone knows about you, the more weapons you have.' Obviously, we don't like many people knowing about us." A total lie, this time; he didn't really know that the Corvin family saying was.

Malfoy Jr. nodded. "I see."

There was a moment of silence as the blond seemed to be trying to decide something, then he flicked his wand at his trunk, whispered an incantation, and strolled the rest of the way through the door as the trunk floated to a spot under the seat across from Harry and came to a rest. A moment of hesitation later, Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle followed their leader's example.

Harry turned back to his _manga_ as the four across from him settled in. Silence followed, which, though it may have been awkward to most, served to soothed Harry's somewhat frayed nerves; it looked like his patience was going to get quite a workout in the next few months, if this was how he was going to react to seeing familiar faces.

The silence was broken when Malfoy (adding that "Jr." was becoming bothersome, and he was pretty sure Malfoy Sr. wasn't going to appear anytime soon) asked, "What's that?"

"What's what?" Harry asked in return as he looked up, honestly confused.

"That book you're reading, of course," Malfoy sneered. Harry could feel his hackles start to rise, and only kept it under control by reminding himself that this was how the blond treated everyone he knew.

He held up the book to show him the cover. "_Oh! My Goddess_, volume one. It's a comic book series from Japan," he explained, "It's about the Norn of the Present, Verdandi- Belldandy in the comic, because the Japanese can't pronounce her name correctly- her mortal lover, Morisato Keiichi, and the craziness that ensues as they try to make their relationship work." Harry found himself grinning as he continued, "It's written by a muggle, but I just find that all the better."

"Better? Muggle merchandise? You must be joking!" Parkinson sneered, giving him an incredulous look. It was the first time he'd heard her speak.

"I'm not, I assure you; if there's one thing the muggles got right, it's the art of story-telling. I mean, the muggle world's got stories about super-powerful martial artists from outer space and giant spaceships that battle aliens for the sake of intergalactic peace, while the Wizarding World's got… what? _Martin Miggs the Mad Muggle_? Pfft! Even the NAME sounds like crap!"

"Hey! I like _Martin Miggs_!" Goyle said indignantly, though the effect was somewhat ruined with the dopey tone he used. Still, Harry almost blinked; that was the first time he had ever heard Goyle say something…ever.

"My point is made." The shock didn't stop him from making a wisecrack at the bigger boy's expense, though.

Goyle just sat there, obviously trying to comprehend what point that was exactly. Eventually, Malfoy had to say, "Stop, Goyle. I don't want you to destroy what little brain you have left thinking over this." The concentrated (or constipated, it was hard to tell) look immediately left.

The carriage descended into silence after that, and Harry went back to his _manga_. About five minutes in, Malfoy cleared his throat loudly, causing Harry to look up.

"Not that I'm interested or anything, but… I'm rather bored here, so…" Malfoy trailed off, blushing faintly.

"So…?" Harry asked, honestly surprised.

"…Do you… that is to say… have another copy of that book you're reading?" The ensuing silence was only broken by the crick of Parkinson's neck as she quickly turned her head and gaped at the blond. The two oafs that flanked them just looked on dumbly.

After a brief moment of internal debate, Harry tossed him the copy he was reading, reached under his seat to pull out his trunk, and pulled out the second volume. Silence descended again.

Roughly two minutes later, the silence was broken again when Parkinson shyly (shyly? He didn't even know the girl COULD be shy!) asked, "Umm… do you have another…?"

Harry immediately tossed her his copy, pulled out his trunk once again, and pulled out the third, and his final, book. Before starting his reading again, he shot a glare at Crabbe, who had had his mouth open, ready to speak. "This is my last one, so bugger off," he dead-panned. The bigger teenager stopped, visibly tried to think through the situation, then snapped his mouth shut again and huffed like a spoiled child. It was all Harry could do to stop the eye-roll that was fast approaching.

The rest of the trip passed in silence.

A/N: _Manga_ reading Slytherins. Oh Lord have mercy. The next chapter is coming soon (I mean it!), so stayed tune!

Please Review!


	28. Chapter 27: Through Another's Eyes

A/N: For those of you who like Draco Malfoy, yes, he's going to be Harry's friend. No, they won't be together in a threesome with Shinobu. I don't do the Harry/Draco pairing. For those of you who DO NOT like Draco Malfoy, yes, something will happen to him. No, he won't die… kinda. I'm trying to reach a middle ground. Did I succeed?

…Oh, and here's the next chapter, because I love you all.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Damn you for reminding me, you bastards.

Chapter 27: Through Another's Eyes

Harry got of the Express at Hogmeade station like he did more two years ago, only this time it was with his then-arch-nemesis and his cronies instead of Weasley and Granger. It was kinda surreal, when he thought about it: he was back at what he had once considered home, but now it was just a school, and the people next to him, people that he had so despised, were just his fellow students. This was a new him, a Harry Potter completely different from the skinny, abused boy that had looked forward to this old castle every summer.

"Hey! Corvin! Hurry up, will you?" Malfoy's shout broke his train of thought, making Harry realize that the group was two or three meters ahead of him now. He hurriedly caught up with them.

"What were you doing, Corvin? We were about to leave you just standing there like a statue, maybe conjure up a few pigeons to make it official," Parkinson smirked. Malfoy chuckled as Crabbe and Goyle laughed stupidly. Harry just smiled and shook his head, marveling at how easy it was getting to talk to her and Malfoy.

"I was just admiring the castle. And no pigeons, please; I like my cloak black, so let's keep it that way, ni?" Parkinson giggled, something that she had done plenty on the train (and why wouldn't she? _Oh! My Goddess_ could be pretty damn funny). "So, what do we do now?" Harry asked, though it was more from trying to keep up his charade then actual ignorance; the Founders had filled him in on thestral-pulled carriages.

"We take a carriage to the castle, of course," sneered Malfoy, "What else would we do? Walk there?" Once again, Harry was reminded of how spoiled the blond could be.

"It's possible. I mean, the castle's not that far… at least, it doesn't look that far."

"…Merlin, but I hope you're joking…"

Harry shook his head in amusement as the group arrived at their destination. Harry turned to study the carriages, noticing the antique feel they practically oozed. It was definitely a nice touch… nicer still if it had been intentional; he was sure the old man didn't know just how old those carriages really were.

Then he turned his attention to the creatures pulling the carriage, and something strange happened.

The thestral that was nearest to him suddenly turned to look at him with eyes filled with an obvious intelligence. It should have been frightening, having a near-skeletal horse-reptile hybrid staring at him, but Harry wasn't scared, just slightly unnerved. He was a bit freaked out though when the thestral gave him an obvious nod of acknowledgement. Harry just nodded back (what else was he going to do?) and quickly got onto the carriage.

"What took you so long?" Parkinson asked as he closed the door.

Without thinking, Harry replied, "Just admiring the thestrals." He knew he had made a mistake when everyone's jaws dropped.

"Y-you can see them…?" Malfoy asked, openly gaping.

"Err…" 'Think quick! Think quick!' "…Yeah, I can see them. Obviously, I saw someone die. I'd rather not think about it." There were a few tense seconds, then the group just nodded. 'Phew… thank God for Alucard's influence on my innocent, impressionable mind' He mentally chuckled at his own joke.

The trip was passed in a comfortable silence, Malfoy and Parkinson pulling out the _manga_ that Harry had allowed them to keep for the moment. Harry was glad for that, since it gave him time to think.

First item on the agenda: the thestral's freaky response. Maybe it was the fact that he was a vampire (well, vampire hybrid, actually, but the undead were the undead), and so Death-aligned like the thestrals. Or maybe it was just him, since he wasn't your everyday, joe-shmoe vampire; he had six wings where there should be none, and he was out on a quest for weapons that seemed to only affect him physically and mentally, so maybe having a thestral give you a nod and a tip of the hat was supposed to happen. Harry mentally filed the thought away for later perusal.

Secondly: the company in which he found himself in. It wasn't strange talking to Malfoy and Parkinson in a friendly manner- he'd gotten over that already- but it WAS strange that they were talking to him like a stranger. It's just… he hadn't changed that much over the last two years, did he? Don't get him wrong- he was glad no one recognized him- but, well, he always thought he hadn't changed all that much. Sure, there was the extra foot or so in height, and his trice-damned scar was now just a thin white line, but his eyes were still as green as they always were and his hair just as messy. Could it be that his scar was the only things people noticed back then?

And let's not forget the reason why he was here in the first place: the Staff of Libra. He could feel its presence, but Hogwarts' magic-saturated air was somehow refracting it, making it seem like it was coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. For all he knew, it could be in one of those winged boar statues he just passed by! He sighed; this was looking to be a bit harder then he initially thought…

"Corvin? What's wrong?" Harry started at Parkinson's voice; he hated to admit it, but he tended to be rather unawares when he thought on things.

"Nothing. Just thinking over a slight problem…" Sometimes, the truth was better then lying.

"Oh. Alright."

"We're here," Malfoy announced. Harry glanced out the window and saw that they were right outside the main entrance.

'Well, time to face the music…' he thought as he collected his _manga_ from his two companions, tossed them back into his trunk, and followed them out, his truck balanced on his shoulder.

Just as they were about to enter the castle, Malfoy leaned over and whispered "Um… can I borrow that comic later? I didn't get to finish it, and it was getting interesting…"

Harry blinked in surprise, never expecting Malfoy of all people to get hooked on a _manga_. "Um… sure… presuming I get into Slytherin."

"Oh… right," Malfoy's eyes became downcast, but only for a moment before something came to his attention. "How did you know I was a Slytherin?"

"You give off that 'I want the world, but I can't have it, so I'm going to try and take as much of it as I can' feel. Parkinson, too," came the smooth reply.

Malfoy nodded, accepting the answer as they made their way to the Great Hall.

OoOoOoO

The Great Hall was just as magnificent as the last time he was there… more so, since he was currently looking at it from the front of the giant room. 'No wonder there's always a DADA teacher,' he mused as he sat on a chair near a rather familiar side door that he remembered walking through when he was a first year, 'this view alone is worth braving the… curse.' The giant hall filled to the brim with laughing children, the hundreds of floating candles, the enchanted ceiling… the only word for it was 'amazing'.

Harry looked around, and was surprised to find some still-familiar faces amongst the crowd; the Slytherins had Malfoy, Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle, of course, but Flint, Bulstrode, and Greengrass were also recognizable, Ravenclaw had Cho Chang and Padma Patil, and Hufflepuff had Ernie MacMillan, respectively, and Gryffindor…

There was definitely something rotten in the state of Gryffindor. To be more specific, it looked more like what he remembered Slytherin House to be like from way back: Weasley, the king, and Granger, his queen, were at the head of the table, the redhead giving him a death glare while the brunette just looked on sadly, an act that puzzled Harry. Longbottom and Weasley-onna sat next to them, Longbottom looking rather paranoid and Weasley-onna looking rather sickly and tired. Further down the line, Harry could recognize the twins, Fred and George, their friend Lee Jordan, Parvati Patil, Seamus Finnigan, Lavender Brown, and what looked like an older Colin Creevey sitting next to a younger version of him at the end of the table.

Harry let his eyes wander over the faculty table. Most of the teachers were still there; there was Dumbledore sitting at the center of the table, with McGonagall, Flitwick, and Snape nearby. Hagrid and who he vaguely recognized as Sinastra, along with some other familiar teachers, sat further out, with the only unfamiliar face at the table, an ugly toad of a woman (if she could be called that) who he guessed was the new DADA teacher, next to him. She was eying him and making an ill and obvious attempt at hiding it. Something told Harry this lady was going to be bad news later…

"Ahem!" Dumbledore coughed, bringing Harry out of his thoughts as he watched the whole crowd grow silent, "To those who left during for winter break: welcome back to Hogwarts! To those who stayed: welcome back to real life!" He paused as the students laughed. "Before we begin to eat, I would like to welcome into out fold a new student, Azrael Corvin, who has up until now been home-schooled." He turned to McGonagall. "Minerva?"

The stern woman stood up without a word and walked over to Harry, who eyed her wearily. In her hands she held the Sorting Hat, which she set almost gently down on his head. He was happy to see that it didn't fall over his eyes, like it did during his first year. He waited patiently for it to talk into his mind, and wasn't disappointed.

"Hmmm? Is that you, Mr. Potter?" the Hat asked, surprise evident in his voice.

"Hello again, Hat. And it's Azrael Corvin for the moment," Harry replied.

"Well, well… I was under the impression that you had died."

"To be perfectly honest, I did at one point. I was revived as a vampire-lycan hybrid, as you can see."

"Hmmm… that I do, along with many other things that were not present in your mind before… like how you've discovered the secret of the Founders."

"Secret?"

"That they are true immortals."

"Oh. That. They're a nice bunch."

The Hat cleared its mental "throat" (since it obviously didn't have a physical throat, seeing as how it was, despite numerous complicated enchantments and a sentient mind, a hat). "Now, I think I am supposed to sort you," he said, "but seeing as how you already belong to a House…"

"NO!" For a moment Harry thought he had actually shouted out the word, before noticing that the students and teachers watching him were just that: watching him expectantly. Relieved, Harry continued, "I… don't think I can handle being around those traitors twenty-four-seven."

"… I see. But I cannot put you in another House; it's against the rules our mutual friends put here all those years ago."

"Then do what you are supposed to do and sort Azrael Corvin. You'll see that I'm actually enrolled here under that name."

"Hmm… so you are. Alright, I shall put you in a House. But before I sort you, I need to ask something of you."

Harry blinked. "Um… alright, sure. What is it?"

The Hat was silent for a moment as it gathered its thoughts, then started speaking haltingly, as if, even with his thoughts together, it was still hard for him to say what he was about to say. "The Headmaster… beware of Dumbledore. He is not as he used to be, when he was the greatest wizard of the Light. Now, he is… he is not of the Light any longer, but of the Grey, believing he is greater then he truly is."

Harry was silent for a moment, as if contemplating this information… before promptly rolling his eyes and saying (mentally, of course), "Well, no shit, Sherlock; it was kinda obvious, don't you think?"

"…You are a lot more cynical then I remember, Mr. Potter."

"Being dead, then undead, then finding out your friends saw it fit to not even give you a decent funeral can do that to a person."

"I'll take your word for it," the Hat said. "Now, as I was saying before, since you do not want to go back to your old House, how does my original decision sound?"

Harry blinked in confusion. "Original decision? What decision? You haven't placed me in a House yet!"

"Tsk, tsk… have you forgotten my original decision for you all those years ago, when you still thought Salazar was evil?"

"Your original decision…? You mean Slytherin House?" Harry shrugged. "Might as well. Besides, I was planning on studying this blood prejudice that seems so popular around here; this will make my job easier."

"Hmm… then so be it," said the Hat, followed by the customary shout of the House name: "SLYTHERIN!!"

There was polite clapping from all four tables- Weasley and his gang a notable exception- as Harry put the Hat back on its stool and made his way over to Malfoy and his gang. He almost started when he noticed the small smirk on the blonde's face.

"Welcome to the best House in Hogwarts, Corvin" he said, motioning for Crabbe and Goyle to make room. Harry smirked as he took the offered seat.

"Why thank you, Malfoy. I'm sure I'll enjoy it here," he replied. Huh. A welcome from Malfoy. Who would've thunk it?

The rest of the meal passed amicably, Harry chatting with his new housemates while he secretly scanned the minds of each of his fellow sixth years. What he found was rather… disturbing.

Apparently, his earlier theory about how the House's infamous prejudices were just a product of nature was, unfortunately, wrong. He was saddened to find that, though some were like Malfoy and his gang, and others were neutral, the rest of Slytherin House was cruel and sadistic in nature. They thought it great fun to make others suffer, and used the pureblood beliefs as a convenient excuse to hide behind. It made him sick to the stomach.

Speaking of his stomach, his thoughts were interrupted by the sudden appearance of dinner. He'd forgotten just how incredible Hogwarts fare was, and the reminder he was getting was making him wonder how he had forgotten in the first place.

Then he remembered: he was no longer capable of eating.

'Now what…?' he wondered, mechanically gathering food on his plate as he tried to work out a plan. How could he have forgotten such a crucial detail? He gave a mental sigh and made a mental note to working on his planning skills.

While he was berating himself, he had finished loading up his plate. He looked up to see if anyone had noticed he hadn't started eating yet. No one was staring at him or giving him weird looks yet. Good. He stared down at his plate and wracked his brain for any ideas.

'C'mon… I probably don't even have to eat the food!' he thought, 'I just need them to not notice how full the plate is! But how do I…?' He got a sudden flash of insight: the Notice-Me-Not Charm that Rowena had thought him. If he remembered correctly, it basically made it so that people would be inclined to look anywhere but the target of the spell. Though it wasn't perfect by a long stretch, it would have to do until he worked out a permanent solution. He quickly cast the charm onto his plate soundlessly and wandlessly. And it was not a moment too soon, too, as Malfoy chose that minute to start a conversation with him.

The rest of the night was problem free, and he went to bed that night ready for what the next day might bring.

A/N: Have no fear- Umbridge will get what's coming to her. It will be gory, and most satisfying. But how to kill her off…? I think I'll let you readers decide that. Any suggestions are welcome!

Review!


	29. Chapter 28: The Joy of Classes

Chapter 28: Hell Begins Anew

A/N: Slytherin!Harry rocks, and you know it, people. He kicks ass in ways a pussy like Gryffindor!Harry just can't compare. All hail the Slytherin!Harry!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Damn it all.

Chapter 28: Classes Begin. Joy.

_Dear Shinobu,_

_Well, I have arrived at Hogwarts, and I've only got two words for it: it SUCKS! It used to feel like home, but now… I want to go back to Japan, to Michael and Selene and Sirius and the girls… and you. Especially to you. I miss you; I have no idea how I'm going to get through this. But I have to, unfortunately, so I guess the only thing I CAN do right now is miss you. Say hi to the others for me._

_Love,_

_Harry_

Harry rolled up the letter and tied it up with a small, red ribbon, then tied the whole thing to Estella's neck. "_Are you sure you can make the journey?_" he asked in Parseltongue as he finished securing the letter.

"_For the thousandth time, Papa: YES!_" the jaculus said with a hiss that Harry had come to recognize as the snake equivalent to rolling one's eyes. As if to prove her point, she flapped her wings twice to lift off, and then quickly flew into the tunnel the Slytherin dungeons had for just such a purpose.

When the echoing wing beats had faded, Harry turned back to face the dormitory he was currently staying in. The magically-produced dawn-light from the illusionary window behind him made the beds and chests glow various rosy hues. The room was filled with the sounds of sleep from his roommates.

He suddenly realized he was now faced with a problem: he had woken up several hours early, so what should he do now? Going back to sleep was out of the question- since he technically didn't need to sleep anyway- and he'd already read and reviewed all of his materials.

'Well, I can always find someplace for morning practice…' he mused to himself; one of the major problems he had faced coming to Hogwarts hadn't been his physiology, surprisingly, but rather where he was going to practice his skills. Unfortunately, nobody had figured out anything, and as off arriving at the castle, it had been left to him to find his own little nook.

Finally deciding he wasn't going to get anything done standing there, he used his Dark Psynergy to wrap himself in shadows- a spell Alucard had called _Assassin's Cloak_- and promptly went off to explore the castle.

OoOoOoO

Harry sighed as he waited in the Charms classroom; he had had no luck on a practice area. Sure, there had been numerous secret passages and more then enough seemingly abandoned classrooms, but all of them were either too small or had the potential risk of being easily discovered. Now the only thing he could do was pray he had better luck tomorrow.

"Hey! Corvin!" Harry looked up to see Malfoy and the gang taking the seats to his right. .

"Malfoy. Parkinson. Crabbe. Goyle," he replied, giving each a nod, "How are you this morning?"

"Well," Malfoy replied, seemingly for all of them. "Ready for double Charms with the Ravenclaws?" he asked.

"Probably; I took a look at some of the material in the book, and it doesn't look so hard."

Malfoy and Parkinson blinked. "So I take it that you're going to specialize in charms?" Parkinson asked.

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, it's just that Hogwarts has one of the highest level charm classes in the world, and you're a new student, so…"

It took Harry a moment to understand what she was getting at: since he was new, and in a high level class to boot, he must be exceptionally good. "Oh, no! It's the same for some of the other subjects… well, except for Defense Against the Dark Arts; I took a look through our textbook and almost instantly fell asleep. I mean, _negotiations_?! If the dark creature is trying to kill you and-slash-or your way of life, I personally think the best course of action would be to walk up to them and blow their head- or heads- off, no questions asked… well, maybe ask the rudimentary questions, but generally you kill- or at least seriously main- whatever's threatening you." Harry stopped his ranting when he noticed his four… "newly acquired acquaintances" just stare at him dumbly.

"Ow… I have a headache…" Goyle muttered after a while. Crabbe nodded in mute agreement.

"You wouldn't happen to be related to Granger, would you?" Parkinson asked, crinkling her nose as if the thought itself was disgusting.

"Who?" Harry asked, playing the ignorant fool; he was supposed to be new here, after all.

"You know: the bushy-haired mudblood that was with the redheaded idiot on the train?" Malfoy added.

Harry scratched his head. "Bushy-haired… oh! The quiet, mousy-looking prefect! I don't think so. Why?"

"Because you seem like a know-it-all, much like her," Malfoy answered bluntly.

"Oh…"

"Don't get us wrong, though; having a Slytherin genius is a good thing, seeing as how Gryffindor has been beating us for the last three years- last year was the Tri-Wizard Tournament, so no yearly points contest and no quidditch season- in both the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup, mostly thanks to Mudblood Granger and the Weaselette," Malfoy said.

"Weaselette?"

"Ginevra Weasley. She's the Gryff Seeker, and a lousy one at that."

"And yet they still kick our arses every year," quipped Goyle, his first contribution to the conversation.

"Watch it, Goyle," Malfoy growled, though there wasn't much malice behind it.

Goyle was about to reply when Professor Flitwick, who Harry was infinitely amused to see was still using his stack of books as a stepstool, cleared his throat to get everybody's attention. The room quickly drifted into silence.

"Hello again, students," he chirped (yes, chirped- there just wasn't any other way to describe his voice), "Before we begin, I'd like to welcome Mr. Azrael Corvin to Hogwarts, and particularly, to this Charms class."

Harry tipped his head in acknowledgement to the light smattering of clapping he was getting from some of the students… mostly Ravenclaws.

"I hope to see great things from you, Mr. Corvin; your transcript was most impressive," the diminutive professor told him. Harry raised an eyebrow; he had never gotten to see his forged transcripts, and so didn't know what was on them. Harry only had time to make a mental note to ask Godric and/or Integra in his next letter before Flitwick started his lesson. "Now, today we'll be covering the Gatekeeper's Charm. Can anyone tell me what that is?"

Harry smirked; Rowena had thought him this one already. He looked around the classroom to see if there were any hands raised, and was surprised to see none at all. He waited another minute before raising his hand, giving of an involuntary sigh.

"Mr. Corvin?"

Harry lowered his hand. "The Gatekeeper's Charm is just what the name implies: a spell that guards doors. Its incantation is _defendo ostium_, and it causes the door, gate, or portal in general to be temporarily sealed against everything, including air, sound, and any type of energy, which, in most cases, is magic."

"Bravo, Mr. Corvin," Flitwick applauded, "Ten points to Slytherin! Now, the charm-" The professor was interrupted when Harry kept on going with his explanation:

"It accomplishes this by rearranging, then forcing nearby particles into bonding with the molecules of whatever material the door or gate is composed of, essentially turning the door or gate into one large molecule. This makes it so energy- magic, sounds, or otherwise- does not get into the usual cracks. The spell can be overloaded, though, which means it doesn't make something completely invincible.

"The spell only lasts fifteen minutes to half an hour, though, because even with the physics-bending power of magic, the molecules of the object will tend to go towards their natural state. Gatekeeper's Charm is pretty much a requirement for professional spies and high-ranking officers in wizarding martial organizations, due to the highly classified nature of their jobs."

The silence in the room was so thick one could cut it with a knife. Everybody was staring at him in shock; even Flitwick had his jaw on the floor. It was some time before the previously mentioned jaw was in its rightful place again, and even then Flitwick spoke with a stutter: "T-that was… Mr. Corvin, I… I had no idea Durmstrang thought such an in-depth charms class! That was brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Fifty points to Slytherin!"

The Slytherin side of the room immediately erupted into cheers; the new guy just won them sixty points! Harry just looked sheepish and scratched the back of his neck; he had the strangest feeling that he would have a rather large sweat-drop on his head if he had been in a _manga _or_ anime_.

OoOoOoO

And so it went, class after class, as Harry scored dozens and dozens of points for his new House on his very first day as Azrael Corvin at Hogwarts. In Transfigurations he won fifty points by showing his knowledge of Animagus training. In Ancient Runes he earned another sixty points by showing off his knowledge of Greek, one of the ancient languages (remember: one of Sal's fields of expertise is linguistics). In Care of Magical Creatures, he earned forty points listing the different orders of wood sprites. In Potions he won NINETY points (Harry found himself thinking for once how it was fortunate that Snape practiced favoritism to the extreme) for brewing the assigned potion- the almost insultingly simple Blood Replenishing Potion- correctly. In Herbology, he had won seventy points for displaying his considerable knowledge of every herb in the greenhouse.

Though the praise he got was rather embarrassing, he had to admit it was worth it at some points… mainly, the double classes with Gryffindor they had: Care of Magical Creatures and Potions. The look on Weasley's face when he showed up Granger was absolutely priceless; the redhead had gotten an ugly puce color when Hagrid (Harry had been surprised to find the big man as the Care of Magical Creatures professor) had given him those points. Apparently, he had been given more points in one day then Granger had ever won.

The only class that gave him trouble was the one that he had expected to since the beginning: Defense Against the Dark Arts. Sure, he had liked the class well enough when Godric taught him- heck, he had loved the class, to be completely honest- but a quick _Legilmens_ on the new DADA teacher, who's name was Dolores Umbridge, had turned up one TWISTED psych.

Cruel, sadistic, and egotistical, Umbridge should have never even been allowed near children in the first place. Actually, she was one of those people that should have never been allowed out in public, period. But she had somehow obtained a high position in the Ministry of Magic, and was now Head Inquisitor of Hogwarts, a position that could potentially be more powerful then that of Headmaster.

And if that weren't enough, she was also the teacher of an incredibly important class, a class that was even more important now since the return of Voldemort. Not good, since, as he had mentioned earlier to Malfoy and group, her curriculum seemed to be based on negotiations with usually non-negotiating people, not any actual defense.

But, unfortunately for him, it was still a required class, so here he was, sitting in a desk in the back of the classroom as he waited for the human toad to arrive. He wasn't to be disappointed… figuratively speaking. Literally, he had been rather disappointed that the… thing hadn't fallen down some stairs and cracked her head open.

"Welcome back, my students," she simpered, causing Harry to shiver as the sound grated harshly against his ears, "It seems we have a new student. Mr. Corvin? Can you introduce yourself?"

Sighing (he had had to do this in Herbology and Cares of Magical Creatures), Harry stood and spoke his mind: "My name's Azrael Corvin, age 15. I like to study self-defense, and so believe that if it's trying to kill you, you kill it; your opponent probably won't listen to you long enough for you to negotiate, provided, of course, that whatever you're fighting is sentient to begin with."

He sat down as he finished, ignoring the looks of shock and whispers he was getting from his fellow students (Gryffindors and Slytherins, since DADA was a "double" class). Toad Woman only grinned.

"Well, then, I guess it is a good thing that I'm the teacher, and you're the student, Mr. Corvin," she simpered.

Harry shrugged and sat back down without so much as a "by your leave"; he personally felt that Umbridge didn't deserve that respect. Unfortunately, she apparently did.

"Mr. Corvin? Did I say you could sit down?"

Harry gave a long-suffering sigh and stood back up. "Better, _Professor_?" he asked, sure to inject the right mix of boredom and mockery into his voice. He was rewarded ("rewarded" being a relative term) when her ugly face went from pasty to puce in 3 seconds flat.

"Mr. Corvin," she ground out, "you will remember well to respect your superiors!"

"Oh, but I do, _Professor_," Harry smirked, sure to keep his bored/mocking tone as he let the implied insult sink in. He was glad to hear some of his classmates snigger behind him.

The Human Toad looked about ready to explode. "twenty-five points from Slytherin and detention, Mr. Corvin!" she nearly screamed, then visibly tried to calm herself down as she continued with a sickeningly sweet smile, "this Saturday. Come to my office at sunset. Don't be late."

Harry was pretty sure she was only an inch away from blowing an artery when all he did was shrug nonchalantly, giving the impression that he didn't care… which he didn't, really; she just wasn't worth it.

And that was how Harry found himself stuck with detention not even a week into classes.

A/N: Methods of offing Umbridge still being accepted!

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	30. Chapter 29: Late Night Meetings

A/N: The infamous Blood Quill incident. I'm afraid it won't be as bloody as some would want it, but it just means Harry's going to be nice and vindictive when he finally gets his chance. Stick with me, eh?

Disclaimer: You know, Umbridge didn't look all that bad in the movie. She wasn't attractive by any sense of the word, but she wasn't ugly either, you know? She looked much like how I would imagine a slightly evil Margaret Thatcher would look. They should have hired somebody so ugly, blind people would have run out of the theater screaming.

Chapter 29: Late Night Meetings

Harry left as soon as class ended, and was quickly joined by Malfoy and the gang. There was an awkward silence between them as they walked.

Finally, Malfoy broke the tension with a curt "Corvin."

"Malfoy." Harry replied, just as curtly.

"You just lost us twenty-five points."

"Bitch had it coming," Harry said in the way of a response; he sidestepped Malfoy's statement because he really had nothing to say to that.

There was silence, then…

"That she did," Malfoy said, his lips curved in a small smirk. Harry nearly tripped in shock; did Malfoy just let him go for losing Slytherin twenty-five points? He caught himself in time to here Malfoy continue, "Though I, personally, would have been a bit more subtle. She has connections; you should have sucked up, milked her dry, THEN humiliate her. "

"Hmm… I'll keep that in mind," Harry mused, also smirking.

"Good. After all, you are a Slytherin, and though you do a good job for a new student, you still got a ways to go. Now, come on, Azrael, I'm kinda hungry."

"Right behind you… Draco," Harry said as he followed the blond. Something had changed between them at the moment, and though he had no idea what that was, Harry found himself feeling strangely good about it.

OoOoOoO

That night and the next day passed quickly, most of it spent looking for a place to keep in shape. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of Umbitch's office, knocking on the door to announce his arrival. He was not afraid, or worried, or even nervous; he seriously could not bring himself to be, considering who it was that he was meeting.

A simpering "Come in" filtered through the wooden door. Harry entered without hesitation… and regretted it immediately; he had walked right into any testosterone-producing male's nightmare. Everywhere he looked he either saw pink, or kittens, or… was that a pink kitten in the corner? It wasn't until that moment that he learned that it actually WAS possible for a vampire (or vampire-like creature) to gag.

"Ah… Mr. Corvin! How nice of you to join me," she said in that sickeningly sweet tone of hers.

"Not like I had much of a choice," he muttered, making sure to be just loud enough so that she could hear, but be uncertain of whether he meant for her to or not.

Her squat, toad-like face darkened, even thought she kept her sugary sweet tone. "Yes, you didn't now, did you, Mr. Corvin?" She gave that disturbing smile of hers, and Harry shivered.

"So, let's get this over with. What do I do?" He asked. Then, just because he felt cheeky and wanted to rub in his obvious disrespect, he flopped down on the only available chair in the room and gave her a smirk. He was rewarded with the, though satisfying, highly disgusting sight of her face turning that oh-so-lovely puce color. But then she smirked, and Harry felt the slightest bit of worry.

"Tonight, Mr. Corvin, you will be… writing lines… for me," she said.

Harry couldn't resist raising an eyebrow in question. "Lines?"

"Yes, lines."

Harry gave her an incredulous stare for a second, and seeing that she seemed completely serious (well, as serious as one can when one looks like a grotesque clown), gave a small "eh" before reaching into his bag for his inkwell.

"Oh, no, Mr. Corvin, I will be providing your quill, and you won't be needing ink."

Harry raised an eyebrow; oooooooookay… obviously somebody's been adding a little sherry into their tea. He slowly took his arm out of his bag, leaving his inkwell for the moment.

Umbridge handed him a wholly unextraordinary quill and a piece of parchment. "You will write 'I will respect my betters' until I tell you to stop. Begin," she said before sitting down at her desk. Harry, shot her a look that clearly said "Pft. Yeah, whatever" before starting his imaginary lines.

He soon learned that maybe they weren't so imaginary after all. As soon as he started writing the first line, the words appeared in ink a shade of red that seemed so familiar, but no matter what he did he couldn't place a finger on. 'A Self-Inking Quill?" he wondered, probing the quill for any magical signatures as he wrote. He wasn't all that surprised to find one, and was trying to follow the threads of the enchantment, wondering what the magic was doing, when he finished his line. His thought process was suddenly interrupted by a terrible searing in his other hand, and a look down saw his previously finished line carved into it as if by a thin knife.

'…Or a quill,' he mused as his wound and the line on paper both faded away. No need to study the magic on the quill anymore. He knew what it was, and what it did: a Blood Quill, a quill enchanted to draw blood from the victim in a preprogrammed way and use it as ink. It was a favorite of imprisoned writers and, because they could be made to be EXTREMELY painful, professional torturers. Because of that last reason, the Blood Quill was illegal in most magical communities, and had been for the last five hundred years.

The full meaning of this suddenly hit him, and he felt rage flow through him; he was sure she'd been using these on other students since the beginning of the school year! Sure, he had read her sadistic tendencies off of her, but to use something that was widely considered a tool of torture on STUDENTS?! This was… monstrous! An abomination of the human race!

…And abominations have to be disposed of. He may have been stuck at this school for the sole purpose of retrieving the Staff of Libra, but that didn't mean he wasn't still a soldier of Hellsing Agency, sworn to cleanse God's earth of all abominations. And though Miss Dolores Umbridge wasn't exactly a vampire, she could most definitely be considered an abomination.

But there was one problem with that statement: since she was human (though barely, to be fair), he couldn't dispose of her in the usual ways- i.e. putting a high caliber bullet in her head. This, of course, meant that he was going to have to go about this in some unorthodox way, since he really didn't want to get in trouble for murder, however richly deserved.

That decided, he made a little adjustment on the Blood Quill's magic so that it produced red ink instead of using his blood, then zoned out as he planned what he had already dubbed "Operation: Toad Nightmare."

It looked like he was going to be staying here a little longer then he first thought.

OoOoOoO

Three hours later, Harry walked down the halls leading to the Slytherin dungeons, suffering from a slightly cramped wrist and more-then-slightly frayed nerves. He was seriously beginning to reconsider his recently-made plans; he doubted Umbitch would survive long enough, since he was pretty sure he was going to kill her, human or not.

The pseudo-human of a DADA teacher had, after making him write for two hours straight (making him very thankful that he'd had the foresight to modify the quill's magic so that it only cast the ILLUSION of the phrase being carved into his hand), had proceeded to give him a speech. A speech about pure-blood superiority, filthy half-bloods, respect of authority, the greatness of the Ministry, his diminished intellect, his questionable heritage, and even the perfections of kittens and the color pink somewhere in the last hour.

Yes, that's right: she had given a one hour speech on pretty much nothing.

And, unfortunately for him, she'd been facing him the whole time, so he couldn't zone out without receiving some sort of additional punishment, something he really, really didn't want, especially after midnight.

So, here he was, stalking the halls late at night, pissed beyond all reason and planning gruesome deaths for the fat little bitch. His particular favorite at the moment involved nails, two-by-fours, his two Taurus Raging Bulls, and uncomfortable places…

"My, but that's a big gun. Will it really fit in there?"

Harry had spun around, whipped his pistols from his inter-dimensional pocket, and drawn a bead on the target's head before he even realized he had his guns aimed at the strange blonde girl from the train.

"No need for those, Harry. I'm on your side," she airily said, making no move at all.

Harry stared at her for a bit, a brief mental scan telling him nothing but chaos and… benevolence? He lowered his guns. "You're… Lovegood, right? Luna Lovegood?" he asked, warily.

"Yes. It's nice to see you again, Harry. It's been… two? Three years?"

"…How the hell do you know who I am? I've never met you."

"True, true. But then, I don't really need to meet you to know you. Comes with Seeing, you know."

"Seeing? You're a Seer?"

A sigh. "Yes. Not very fun, I can tell you."

"Because the visions are so sporadic?"

"On the contrary; I'm constantly having visions."

Harry couldn't help it when his eyes bugged just a bit. "Constantly? And you're not mad?"

"Oh, I'm a mite mad, no doubt about that, but I have some control over it." She sighed. "That's what you get when you hook a mortal up to Yggdrasil, I guess."

"…Yggdrasil?"

"Never mind, never mind. You're looking for the Staff of Libra, right?"

"…Yeah… you don't happen to know where it is, do you?" The last was asked with no real expectation for an answer.

"Yes, actually. It's with the centaurs."

Harry felt his jaws actually dropped; he'd actually gotten an answer? Wow. That had been unexpected. Appreciated, oh yes, but most definitely unexpected.

Then the second part of her statement floated through his head, and he shut his mouth with an irritated click. "With the… what?"

"The centaurs. They found it about forty years ago, and have since then enshrined it, thinking it an artifact of the gods."

"Well, shit," Harry cursed, not knowing what else to say to the information.

"Harry, you currently have enough firepower to level the forest. Why are you worried?"

"How did you…? Oh, right. Seer. Sorry. Well, I'm not going to kill them all just to get a staff… no matter how many sticks they have shoved up their asses." He remembered that one centaur from his first year, Bane. Dear Almighty, but the guy was almost as bad as the pure blood wizards!

"Well, you have no need to worry; you'll get it in the end."

"Vision?"

"Well, yes, but also because it's you, you know?"

"Actually, I don't."

"You're Harry Potter, Harry. You'll win, and you'll always win. You always have before; how many people can say they killed a basilisk when they were twelve, hmm?"

Harry grinned; he was beginning to like this strange Seer. "True. Thanks, Ms. Luna."

"Please, Harry, just Luna. No need to be so formal."

"Alright, then, Luna. Thanks for the tip."

She gave him an enigmatic smile. "Oh, I'm not done yet, Harry. There's something you should know about the Staff."

"Artifact of the gods, right? You said that already."

"No, not that. The Staff is a horcrux, but Tom Riddle was quite unwilling when it was made. Just thought you might want to know."

"Umm… okay." A hor-what? What the hell was that?

"A horcrux is what you get when you split your soul and put the piece in an object. Horrible, nasty magic."

Harry blinked. "Oh. Well, thanks again, Luna. We better be getting to bed."

"I know, and you're welcome. Say hi to Shinobu-_san_ for me, hm?"

"You know Shinobu?"

"No. But why would that matter?"

Another blink. "Okay…night, Luna." Harry bid her as he turned around to continue on his way back to the dorms. His pistols, in his hands and at the ready the whole time they'd been talking, disappeared to which they came from.

"Oh, and Harry?"

Harry turned his head, looking at her over his shoulder. "Yeah, Luna?"

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry, for what we did to you."

"…You don't need to apologize, Luna. You didn't abandon me, they did. We're cool… even if this is the first real conversation we've ever had. Pleasant dreams." He started walking again, giving the blond girl one last wave as he left her.

Strange, but he didn't feel so annoyed anymore.

OoOoOoO

"George?"

"Yes, Fred?"

"Are you seeing this?"

"I think I am, yes."

"A malfunction, maybe?"

"I don't think so. We've had this baby for how many years now? It's never failed us before."

"Then how do you explain what I'm seeing?"

"I don't know, Fred… but I'm going to find out. Let's talk to Ms. Lovegood tomorrow."

A/N: Seer!Luna is frickin' awesome! Hmm… should I have her pair up with Harry alongside Shinobu? If you've read my profile, Harry's siblings (sorta) are going to have multiple partners, so I figure he might as well follow the pattern, right? Tell me what you think!

And keep sending Umbridge death suggestions!

Review!


	31. Chapter 30: Things To Do With A Playroom

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in so long! I've been swamped by midterms and stuff, and the rare times I found myself free enough to work on this fic, I kept hitting a small writer's block. But I managed to get this finished, finally, so the wait is OVER!! Of course, you'll probably have to wait just as long, if not longer, for the chapter after this one. Sigh. Well, that's what school will do to you, I guess…

Disclaimer: Mesa no ownie Eh'ly Potta! Mesa now go kill-kill selfu because mesa even consida talking like-a Jar Jar Binks! (I know Episode 1's old, but I just watched it again recently and couldn't help but make a Jar Jar Binks joke. I apologize…)

Chapter 30: Things To Do With A Secret Playroom-Slash-Chamber-Slash-Basilisk-Layer

A month passed, and Harry, despite his severe dislike for the wizarding world (well, MOST of the wizarding world- Luna was cool, and Draco and the gang were alright), found himself enjoying his time at Hogwarts.

Part of it was because he was still breezing through his classes and impressing the staff. Of course, he had had the advantage of having the complete Hogwarts curriculum taught to him by the founders of the British Isle's best school for magic, so he better be better then his fellow students! Oh, there were times when he felt a little guilty for taking advantage of such a… well, advantage, but then he remembered why he didn't like the wizarding world, and he felt a lot better about it.

Another reason might have been because of the company he found himself keeping: Draco and Pansy, once one got past the arrogance and bigotry, were fun to converse with, which was weird because he honestly couldn't remember them being so approachable (then again, he had been a bit biased back then. That probably had something to do with it); Crabbe and Goyle, though not the conversationalists their smarter- much smarter- compatriots were, were still good company in their own right; they weren't exactly the best source for witty repartee, but every once in a while they would surprise him; and his newest acquaintance, Luna... well, all he could say was that talking with an extremely powerful seer was an interesting experience.

And it didn't hurt that he'd finally found a solution to one of the problems that had been plaguing him: his inability to consume normal foods. It had been Alucard's idea: set up and anchor (so he wouldn't be ripped apart from the inside when he stood up) the entrance of a inter-dimensional pocket inside his mouth, just past his epiglottis; after all, it wasn't that he couldn't eat the food, but rather his digestive system couldn't handle absorbing the nutrients the food provided. This way, he could actually put the food in his mouth, chew, and swallow, but the food would fall into the pocket. Oh, sustaining the spell for the whole meal time was a bit draining, he'd admit, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. It was certainly better then continuing to use the Notice-Me-Not charm, which was easily noticeable to those experienced in wielding magic. The fact that he could finally taste food again after so long would be a very nice plus, too.

He'd also started getting something from Integra that solved another, but related problem of his: sustenance. He'd been putting off feeding, but was at his limit when, lo and behold, Estella flew up to him one morning and proceeded to drop a package containing what the accompanying letter said were "blood pills"- small, red, gumball-like things that were each the equivalent of two liters of blood. When he asked just how the R&D department at Hellsing had come up with them in his next letter, he was told that they hadn't; Su, who he hadn't even been aware was already communicating with Integra, had, when presented with the problem of getting a steady source of blood to him, suggested, and he quoted: "Why not make it like a candy? Candy is easy to send to people, right?" He'd laughed out loud when he'd read that part.

Not all of his problems were getting closer to being solved, however. His search for the Staff of Libra had hit a bit of a dead end, for one. He'd taken Luna's advice and went out to search for the centaur village… or at least, he'd tried to. It was the damnedest thing- he would find a party of centaur and proceed to follow them, only to loose them some time afterwards. He couldn't detect any large areas of magic anywhere in the forest, so that ruled out some kind of charm, and he had not detected any lies from Luna, so he had little reason to doubt her advice. He'd even tried Legilimancy on the centaurs he found, only to encounter strong Occlumancy barriers, barriers that would draw attention to him if he were to try and penetrate them. He was finally forced to admit defeat, and decided to retreat for the moment.

Now he was focusing on another problem, one that was beginning to really piss him off: the lack of appropriate places to keep himself in shape. He'd scoured the castle from top to bottom- even discovering a few hidden rooms in the process that the Marauder's Map 2.0 (henceforth to be called the much less troublesome "MM2") did not contain- and still hadn't found a place secluded and/or big enough to comfortably practice his skills!

So here he was, stalking a hall on the second floor on his free time, stuck in a perpetual state of irritability as he continued his search. He was just about to call it a day when he heard the sounds of crying coming from a nearby girl's bathroom. Before he knew it, he was already opening the door, intent on comforting whoever it was he was hearing; despite being a trained, badass killer who was in a constant state of pissed-off-ness, he was, much to his chagrin sometimes, still Harry Potter, with all the morals that came with it.

It wasn't until he was completely inside the room that he was struck by something… literally, as a roll of toilet paper was promptly bounced off his head. "Get out! Get out, whoever you are! Leave me alone!" someone shouted from behind a closed stall, before hiccupping softly. Harry blinked; that voice sounded awfully familiar…

'Oh yeah! This is Myrtle's bathroom,' he finally realized. He was just about to apologize for interrupting her moping when he was struck with another realization: this was MYRTLE'S bathroom, as in the bathroom that, for reasons Sal never told him, hid the Chamber of Secrets.

The very BIG, very ROOMY Chamber of Secrets.

'_Yatta_!' Harry silently cheered. He had just found someplace to workout! Finally!! Without another thought, Harry began looking for the familiar snake engraved on one of the sinks and, finding it, told it to open in Parseltongue. It moved aside, revealing the giant pipe-slide he remembered from so long ago… along with the slime that covered it. He grimaced in disgust.

'That's just fucking nasty' he thought to himself even as he conjured up a high-pressure jet of water and sent it down the pipe, followed by a giant, high-velocity sponge for good measure. Satisfied that it was probably as clean as it would ever be (and making a mental note to ask Sal why he had made the entrance a slide of all things), he then gripped the top edge of the entrance and swung himself in.

One long, and thankfully clean, ride down the slide and a short walk in the darkness later, Harry was standing before the impressive set of double doors that led to the actual Chamber of Secrets. Taking a moment to admire the workmanship, he was just about to tell the doors to open when he was interrupted.

"Hey! Who are you?" a voice he recognized as Myrtle asked.

Cursing the nosy ghost and his own carelessness, he turned around, fully intending to tell her to mind her own business. He didn't get a chance to, though, as he was brought up short when the ghost girl gasped.

"It… can't be… Harry?" The question made his eyes widen in surprise. When he remained quiet, she asked again, "Merlin… is that you, Harry?"

"I… think you have me mistaken for someone else," he finally managed to say, feeling massively uncomfortable.

Myrtle shook her head. "No, I don't think so… I could never forget those eyes."

Feeling that keeping up his act would have been more trouble then it was worth at this point, Harry decided to drop it and dryly replied, "Well, you're the only one, then; I have no glamours on me, yet I have not been recognized."

Now it was Myrtle's eyes to widen in surprise. "You're… you're kidding, right? No one recognized you? Not even Hermione? Or Ginny?"

Harry shook his head. "None… well, except for Luna Lovegood, but she's a seer, so she doesn't count."

"I… see. Harry, I… for what it's worth, I'm sorry."

'Whoa, déjà vu…' Harry mused, a similar event from a month ago coming to mind. Outwardly he waved off her apology with a flippant, "It's what I've come to expect of these selfish fools- they see what they want to see, and blind themselves to everything else. Don't worry about it."

"Harry…"

"I'll say it again, Myrtle: no worries." Harry ensured her. He turned back to the giant doors before him and proceeded to hiss out his command. As the doors ground open Harry, suddenly feeling oddly personable- probably because he'd found another who hadn't abandoned him- smiled over his shoulder and said, "Now, you want to join me? I could use the company."

Myrtle looked shocked for a moment, before nodding and- to Harry's immense shock because this was the first time he'd seen her do this- giving him a cheerful smile. As they walked- floated, in Myrtle's case- through the doors, a small part of him couldn't help but notice the ghost girl's smile made her rather… cute.

Nothing on Shinobu, of course, but still cute.

OoOoO

For some reason, Harry had found himself expecting to find great things in the Chamber of Secrets: secret libraries, living quarters, potion laboratories… even, for a fleeting second before he remembered Luna's advice, the Staff of Libra. It was a reasonable assumption, really, since it would have been quite UNreasonable to assume that, with several confirmed reports of some Hogwarts staff members or alumni in the last several centuries being Parselmouths, some of them would not have seen it fit to make their own changes to Sal's "playroom."

So it was much to his chagrin when he found that the Chamber of Secrets was just that: a chamber. A hulking big chamber with lots of snake motifs, to be sure, but still just a chamber. It seemed the only modification later generations had put in was the now-dead Basilisk, and even the thing's corpse wasn't there anymore; it was probably cleaned up and harvested for spare parts by the House Elves (apparently, the tunnel behind the giant statue's mouth was just that: a tunnel, left unfinished when Sal finally collapsed from his night of inebriation). Harry found himself feeling a little cheated, really.

That feeling faded, though, when, with Myrtle as his audience, he went through his first training session within the Chamber. To say that it was adequate was an understatement- the Chamber, with its high, vaulted ceiling and wide, open space, let him cut loose completely (and in the process scare the living heck- pun intended- out of the poor ghost). He was even able to use the snake motifs as targets to practice his spells! Who cared about secret rooms when faced with THE perfect training area?

It was now a month after he claimed the Chamber for himself, and he had long since given up finding something interesting… which was why he was so surprised when he felt someone enter the Chamber (after having Myrtle sneak up on him, he'd decided that he was going to just keep his Legilimancy scans up at all times, instead of letting out the occasional pulse. It might have been a bit more tiring, but, damn it all, he was getting tired of being sneaked up on!). A quick _Assassin's Cloak_ and a jump onto the top of one of the snake motifs later, Harry was staring down upon the approaching figure of none other then Ginny Weasley.

'What in the world could she be doing here?' Harry wondered as she watched her walk under him, 'And how the hell did she get in here in the first place?!'

Further thoughts were brushed aside when he saw her stop at the base of the giant stone statue. His curiosity getting the better of him, he made his way closer just in time to see her remove one of the cobblestones that made up the floor. What was revealed made him blink, then blink again, then one more time for good measure.

Between the feet of the giant statue of Sal's father was a small, but very well kept, shrine. To him.

It was a Harry Potter memorial.

If that wasn't creepy, he really didn't know what was.

…It was touching in a strange way, though. He couldn't deny that.

His thoughts were interrupted as Weasley-onna began speaking to the shrine. He leaned in closer to listen.

"Hello, Harry. It's me again," she said as she started fussing with the shrine, "I know I haven't been here since before Christmas Hols, but so much has happened that I didn't get a chance to come down here until now. But at least I have more things to talk about than homework and the local gossip, right?" She giggled at this point, but it was such a soft yet strained sound that he wasn't really sure he could qualify it as such.

"Anyways," she continued, "You'd be interested to know that we have a transfer student. His name's Azrael Corvin, and he's a fifth year Slytherin. He's not very nice, but it's not the standard Slytherin not-nice. It's like… it's not malicious, I guess… well, it is when it's directed at Ron, but that's because Ron's been an ass ever since you died, and he can bring out the worst in anyone. Seriously, I don't know what goes on in his head! He acts more like a Slytherin then most Slytherins! I honestly wonder sometimes if the Sorting Hat might have put him in the wrong House!"

She gave an exasperated sigh before continuing. "…But I digress, especially since I've been saying that for the last three years now. Now, where was I…? Oh yes, the transfer student. He's mean, and I get the feeling that he doesn't like just about everyone. Malfoy and his gang are the exception, but it doesn't seem like he's trying to suck up to them, like one would expect. Rather, he's actually cordial to them, and- get this- they're downright friendly to him right back! Can you imagine? Malfoy being friendly? You must be shocked out of your mind in heaven right now, huh?

"There's also something else about Corvin: he looks likes you. I mean, he REALLY looks like you. I think he might be related to you in some way, Harry. Wouldn't it be cool if he was your long lost relative or something. They you wouldn't just have those nasty relatives of yours to call family. That would have been nice.

"Hmm… what else was there… oh yeah! Voldemort's been sending images to me again. It seems those Occlumancy lessons with Snape aren't really helping, but he's only really blasting into my mind and expecting me to learn how to build a shield on my on, so I guess that's no surprise. This time the vision went a little further. I actually got past the round room and found myself walking along this hall that had glittering, ticking walls. I've told Neville, and he's going to talk to Dumbledore about it. Maybe he might actually give an answer this time. Let's hope so. I'm getting sick of all these evasive answers he's been feeding us."

She looked down to a watch she had on her wrist and gasped. "Oh no! Look at the time! I have to go, Harry. I'll come back next week, hopefully. Until then!" she said in a rush. She gently returned the cobblestone to its place, got up, patted herself down, and quickly walked away without a backward glance.

Harry stayed in place, his mind going over what he'd just witnessed. Though she thought he was dead, Weasley- no, _Ginny_ still thought of him, still considered him important enough to spend time with.

She had never abandoned him.

First there was Luna. Then there was Myrtle. And now there was Ginny. If they had kept him in mind all these years, what of others? Were there other that had never forgotten him, never dropped him when he was no longer deemed their savior?

Harry jumped down from his hiding place and started for the exit. Training was over for the day.

He had much to think about.

A/N: Hmm… who should Ginny be paired up with? I'm thinking Tom Riddle (you'll see just how this will be possible later). What do you readers think? Send me your opinions!

And Review!


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